


Different Story, Different End

by VenomQuill



Series: A Different Path to a Different Story and a Different End [2]
Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: And for Henry/Charles, Be Careful What You Wish For, Canon-Typical Violence, Choose Your Own Ending, Drunkenness, F/M, Inspired endings are tagged in notes, M/M, Other minor Government, Other minor Toppats, Swearing, Thank you for feedback in the polls!, Y'all overwhelmingly asked for Triple Threat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 32
Words: 87,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28152027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VenomQuill/pseuds/VenomQuill
Summary: Completing the Mission:(Henry Stickmin) "What could happen next...?"Completing the Mission:(Ellie Rose) "After escaping from The Wall things have really opened up. What is in store for her?"Completing the Mission:(Charles Calvin) "He is experienced with multiple different types of flying vehicles. He gets brought in for special missions only."This is the ending tree for "Different Path, Different Story." Please read that first. You will have legitimately no idea what happens in any part of this otherwise. Most endings here start in the middle of a chapter.
Relationships: Reginald Copperbottom/Right Hand Man
Series: A Different Path to a Different Story and a Different End [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1972558
Comments: 229
Kudos: 78





	1. Wasn't Me, I Was In Electric (1/7)

**Author's Note:**

> Well, well, well. Here we are again~! I've been waiting for this day. Golly, this feels good! To finally dot the last I and cross the last t. Now, all inspired endings will be tagged in the beginning notes. For example, the second path in DPDS was partially inspired by "The Betrayed" as well as "Presumed Dead." If that was here, the beginning tag would be "TB, PD". Buuuuuut just because it was _inspired_ doesn't mean it's a complete walkthrough. Just like Henry wasn't betrayed in the second path but it was still inspired by "The Betrayed" because of his cybernetics.
> 
> Also, I'm posting the chapters in the same order as they would have appeared in the game: longest to shortest.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry could trust Howie's judgment. So, it was safe to go to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired Endings: TCW, FM

# Chapter One

_Just Look at the Stars_

Henry could trust Howie. Howie was his best friend, his older cousin. Yeah, Henry could trust him.

Sherman had nothing new to report, but they did go over the mission again. Plans A-D were completely filled in, and everything at least looked well. Sherman congratulated him on his recovery as they parted ways.

Henry found Howie walking through one of the hallways to the front of the ship. “Hey, Howie!”

“Huh? Oh! Howdy, Henry! Didja need something?” The man stopped, looking up from the papers in his hands.

“Yeah, actually,” Henry admitted. “Look, it’s about… him. Do you have a minute?”

Howie’s eyebrows raised. “Ahh. Well, yes, Ah do have a moment ta spare.” He tipped his head to the room Howie had just left. The break room was currently empty, being an awkward time in the day not quite in time for a meal but also not in the middle of some event going on, such as a shipment or raid. After shutting the door behind him, he sat down near the end of the table close to the coffee machine. Henry sat down beside him, the both of them ignoring the machine. “What happened?”

“It’s not exactly ‘what happened’ as ‘what’s going to happen.’ Howie, Dad Reginald basically just told me we’re not going to have any prisoners soon,” Henry stated.

“Oh.”

“But! But he didn’t say what he was doing with them!” Henry went on. “He just said that he would be doing something but having a prisoner would just weigh us down. I just need your advice. You know, what should I tell him? A-ask him? To let Dave go or something?”

Howie… didn’t respond at first. In fact, the man waited for so long, Henry started to speak again. Howie said, “Now, Henry, ya know Ah love ya. Yer my li’l buddy, like a cousin. Ah don’t like yer friendship, but Ah understand it. You know what Ah’m gonna say about it. But Ah know ya. Yer gonna do this no matter how much Ah disagree.”

Henry nodded.

Howie managed a small chuckle at that. “Well, there’s no good way ta come at this. Let’s look at our options. What would _you_ do? What do _you_ want outta this?”

“I just want him to be alive and happy. Free, hopefully,” Henry admitted. “The _easiest_ thing that comes to mind would be to just… let him out? I know that’s seriously oversimplifying things and pretty much impossible. But what I _want_ is for Dave to be free and alive and happy.”

Howie slowly nodded. “Okay. What do ya think the chief wants?”

“What’s best for the Clan,” Henry admitted. “I don’t think he _feels_ for Dave. At all, either way. So, something that’s easy, clean, and has the fewest negative consequences as possible. If Dad Reginald wanted him dead, he’d had killed him by now. But that’s not his style.”

“At the baseline–ignorin’ yer relationships–do yer end goals align?”

“…kind of.” Henry’s voice was slow, hesitant. “We both want what’s best, albeit slightly differently. I want what’s best for the Clan, too, don’t get me wrong. But for him, too. I want this to be quick and easy and clean as well. I don’t want anything negative going back on us. _But_ Dad Reginald probably isn’t _wanting_ Dave to be free and happy. No, not that. I just don’t think he’s considering what Dave wants or feels at this point. Like he’s just a prisoner, an asset or tool that’s been locked up for a few months, now.”

“Understandable.”

There was another silence.

Howie said, “Ah see what yer sayin’, an’ Ah can see what you’d think the chief would say. Ya know him much better than Ah do, aft’r all. What about Dave? Do ya know what _he_ wants?”

Henry hesitated. “I… assumed he would want to be out free and alive. We don’t really _talk_ about it, considering it’s never really been a possibility until pretty much now.”

“Okay. Well, talk ta Dave about it, get his opinion. After all, this will impact him far more than either of you. Then, weigh yer options again. Henry, Chief Reginald looks out for the Toppat Clan. He’s proud of us and himself. If he believes Dave’s death would reap more benefits or prevent more accidents in the long run, he will take it. You, Henry, must find a way to show him that Dave’s life and freedom means more to _the chief_ than Dave’s death. Ah support ya either way, ya know that. If Dave just makes things even more confusin’, come back ta me. We can look over our options again.”

Henry let out a small breath he was hardly aware he’d been holding. “Thanks, Howie. Yeah, that makes sense. I’ll talk to him tonight. You are the best cousin anyone could ever ask for, you know that?”

Howie chuckled. “Ah certainly do. Now.” He pushed himself to his feet and picked up his papers. “Ah’ve got work Ah gotta get done, and Ah’m sure you do, too.”

“Yes! Yes, I do. If you need any help?”

“Ah got this, Ah got this! Good luck, li’l buddy.”

* * * * *

Henry sat on his bed, waiting. The shower was off, it would only be another few moments before Dave was out. It was Dave’s choice between his regular suit or the jacket and top hat. Dave was given this choice every evening. If he chose the top hat, they were going out on a walk or to the gym or outside. If he wore his security hat, they were staying inside, chatting or watching videos or movies or playing games.

Dave left the bathroom, a thin jacket covering his uniform and a top hat set firmly upon his head, pressing down on his dark, shiny hair. Henry perked up. “Hey, Dave!”

“Hey!” Dave sat down on the bed across from him. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

_Heh. That hat looked nice on him._ Henry took a deep breath. “Okay. So, I know we never really talked about this. But some things are coming up. Changes, you know. I was wondering: what do you want? To happen to you? What do you want to do?”

Dave gave him a blank stare. “What… what do you mean?”

“I mean: think about your future,” Henry stated. “I was talking to my dad, and he said that we’re coming to a point where we can’t have prisoners with us. He didn’t tell me exactly what he planned to do with you when I asked. So, I plan on talking to him about it. I want to know exactly what you want.”

The former security guard’s eyes went round. “You… but I… what? You want my input?”

“Yeah, man! Is something wrong with that?”

“Well, no, but, I just didn’t think that, you know, me being me and you being you, that you would… I mean, I guess I should know. You really care for me, huh? Heh. Yeah. You–well, Henry. If I’m going to be honest…” Dave swallowed, staring hard at his lap. “I want to be free.”

Henry nodded. “Then that’s what I’ll ask from him. Dave, I swear that you will go outside on your own in the daylight.”

Dave looked up at him. “Henry, I… I-I knew–I mean, I _thought_ you were–technically, I know, but–” He fumbled with his words, tears gleaming in those deep, dark eyes of his.

Henry had hardly gotten up when Dave got to his feet and dragged him in for a hug. “Thank you.” The broken words hummed in Henry’s ear, riding on a choked, heavy breath.

Henry hugged him back, pain twisting his heart into knots. “Of course, Dave.”

“Oh, damn,” Dave mumbled, trying vainly to steady his breathing. “Thank you, Henry. God, I can’t–”

Henry laughed. “O-okay! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to, uh… how about we go get some fresh air?”

The former security guard swallowed and nodded. “Y-yeah. Yeah, let’s do that.”

Henry waited until Dave let go before slipping out of the tight embrace. Dave wiped off his eyes and readjusted his hat. It was a nice fit on him, the brim curled a little so it wouldn’t threaten his eyes but long enough like his baseball-cap-shaped security hat to shelter from bright overhead lights or the sun. Plain and black, medium height and medium brim, nothing extraordinary. It didn’t need to _look_ extraordinary because the one to whom it belonged would simply outshine it no matter what was done to the hat itself.

The hallways were as quiet as ever.

They didn’t need to move long before they found themselves outside and in the open air. They were plunged into the chill of the night plagued by whipping winds as they set foot outside the warm indoors. The door shut behind them.

They both leaned on the rails protecting them against the fall consisting of thousands of feet of airspace into the bushy trees below. Henry crossed his arms over the wood while Dave held on, both sets of eyes turned up at the stars barely touched by scarce clouds. Henry let out a quiet hum. “So, how about tonight? What are the stars like?”

Dave grinned, the look not lost on Henry as the light from the full moon glowed over the man. He pointed up, tracing the constellations with his finger. “That’s Cassiopeia, way up there. We have Cepheus close and then on the other side Andromeda…”

Henry only half paid the stars above any heed. Instead, he watched as Dave pointed them out, explaining each one with enthusiasm, his dark brown eyes glimmering more than the starry expanse high above. The moon glowed over his soft skin, showing contrast to the slight scars so faded by time they were indecipherable in any light brighter than the moon’s. The top hat looked good on the man, especially as its brim was pulled back to keep the shadow from his face. It was not at all like his flatter hat from his security guard uniform; ruffled and low drawn so he could easily get lost beneath it if he so wanted. Sometimes, even if he didn’t want to, the thing being so worn from use and Dave’s nervous rubbing and bending of it.

Dave looked down at Henry. “The constellations are really good this time of year. Er–Henry?”

Henry blinked. “Oh! Sorry, I just blanked for a minute there.”

“Are you okay?” Dave ventured.

“Mhm. I just got a little distracted.”

“Okay. Yeah, you look a little spacey.” Dave chuckled. “So, I guess it’s appropriate we’re out here, huh? Unless you’re tired, then it would be a good idea to come inside.”

Henry waved off the fear. “I’m _fine_. You know, you look cute when you’re excited.”

“I-I do? I mean, oh, um, thank you.” Dave chuckled and looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. The moonlight washed most of the color from the landscape and from them, but Henry could still see the muted red on the man’s face. It was a funny look. “You-you look nice, too.”

“Heh. Thanks.” Henry idly played with the cuff of his glove on his left hand. He wore gloves on both hands, like Dad Reginald. He didn’t know how the man did it, though. Gloves were so _annoying._ At least he didn’t need to look at his hand too much.

Dave gently took Henry’s hand in his, bringing the metal limb closer to himself. Henry blinked and looked up at him. The security guard nudged his thumb under the cuff of his sleeve, rubbing the metal of his wrist. “You don’t have to hide, you know.”

Just like that, Henry’s good mood turned into a slow, steady spiral down. “Yeah, I don’t. But I will.”

“Why?”

“It’s easier. Maybe to think that… well, it looks real enough when I don’t look at it, right?”

For a moment, Dave didn’t answer. “…I like looking at it.”

“Why?”

“It reminds me that you’re tough. That I don’t need to worry if I don’t see you for more than a few days. You can withstand anything.” Dave drew his sleeve up a little to look at the metal beneath. “You’re still Henry, even if you’re part robot, now.”

He… didn’t have an answer to that. Now it was his turn to refuse to meet Dave’s gaze.

“Thank you, Henry. For looking out for me. For taking me here. You didn’t need to.”

“I wanted to,” Henry admitted. “You don’t deserve to be trapped in there.”

Dave let out a quiet laugh. “You’re going to get in trouble one of these days, Henry.”

“Eh, that’s something for Future Henry to worry about.”

“That’s not really a good mentality to have.”

“Then what do you think I should do?”

Dave’s smile fell a little. “I… don’t know.”

They let the words hang in the air a little while. The whistling of the wind and distant _whirr_ of the engines rushed to fill the silence between them.

“I’ll stay here,” Henry declared.

“What?”

“I’ll stay here. With you. We don’t need to go back inside any time soon,” he explained, looking up at Dave. “If I get in trouble, then, so be it. Heh. Anything’ll be worth spending more time around you.”

Dave made a small noise of perhaps amusement or embarrassment. The return of the funny pinkish color pointed to the latter as true. “I like spending time around you, too.” He leaned on the rail again, still petting Henry’s wrist. That couldn’t have been pleasant; the metal must be cooler now that they were outside in the windy night so, so high up. Of all the things about his cybernetics that made him uncomfortable, the cold was the worst. When it was cold, the metal on his shoulder tended to refuse his body heat and send shoots of cold into his scapula where the metal of his shoulder and arm was bolted. Now it was starting to get to that point, the chilly wind blowing through his clothes uninvited, not stopped by any body heat Henry produced.

The former security guard ran his hand up his arm, pulling back the sleeve of his navy-blue suit further and leaned forward to take his other hand. Henry didn’t fight him; he found no sense in his head to do so. Dave tugged Henry forward and touched his lips to the cyborg’s. Tentative, hesitant, like a curious songbird.

Henry managed to find himself and closed the nonexistent distance between them. His fingers tangled in Dave’s and he felt a faint shiver pass through the man’s body as cool metal touched warm skin.

There was so much air around them, flying past the ship and ruffling their clothes and whipping through their hair. The night chill nipped at every inch of skin, exposed even if only by a technicality as air found its way between skin and shirt. Henry found himself reaching for air he’d deprived himself of, drawing in huge gulps of the chilly ether hitched by quiet, awkward laughter. Dave’s breath, warm and marked by the sharp scent of mint, brushed over his cheek. Just like when he slept, the awkward, nervous stiffness in the former security guard’s muscles dissipated.

Eventually, Dave slipped from his grasp and chuckled, “We’re _really_ high up.”

Henry snorted. “Yeah. The, uh, ship doesn’t land often.”

The former security guard cleared his throat. “So, um, you want to-to get out of the cold?”

“Y-yeah! Yeah, uh…” Henry let go, fumbling with his card for a moment before opening the door. Light, warm but dim, washed over them as they walked inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a pretty night on the airship. Two friends stand side-by-side, talking about the future.


	2. Ohana Means Family (1/7)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry wasn't what Charles thought he was. But that didn't mean Henry had to give himself up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired endings: TR, CG

# Chapter One

_Family Means No One Gets Left Behind_

Just… get it over with. But not _too_ much.

The movie blundered on in the background. Charles and Henry sat together on the hotel room couch, Charles not-so-patiently watching Henry, and Henry hoping for nothing more than for the couch to open up and swallow him whole. “Charles, I… I need to tell you something.” He kept his voice low, almost drowned beneath the chattering of the television. “You really aren’t going to like it. But I want you to think about it before, you know, talking about anything else?”

“…yeah…?”

“Charles, you’ve pretty much always been in the government. Your family generations before you were even born in the army and now, you’re an ace pilot. I… I’m not, obviously. But my family is not in the tech business,” Henry stated. “I’m not in the tech business. I’m a criminal, you know that. But it’s just… not what you think, you know? I’ve always been one, and I always will be one.”

Charles’ eyebrows furrowed. “What… do you mean by that?”

“I _mean_ that it’s who and what I am. You are a good person on the straight and narrow with military friends and family and law-abiding acquaintances. I’m not. I’m a criminal who knows and loves criminals, in a family that doesn’t abide by the law. You deserve someone of your own pace, you know? Someone who could empathize with you, understand what you’re saying, what you mean.”

Charles looked even more confused, were that possible. “I still don’t get it. You do that already, Henry. I think you’re a great person and yeah. You have your faults. Everyone does. You’re not _hopeless_ , you know. I wouldn’t try to change you just because you’re not like me. Henry, I-I like you because you’re not like me. You’re wonderful and creative and smart. I can’t understand what you do or why you do it most of the time, but it’s always for a solid reason. You like me for being me, and you understand me. Even though I can act silly or childish sometimes, you don’t think I’m stupid or naïve. You’ve never treated me like that.”

Henry tipped his head a little. “Has someone been calling you that?”

Charles ducked his head and put a hand to the back of his neck. “That’s… um, you already heard my nickname back on base. Puppy. A naïve, childish follower who always sees the best in people, you know?”

“No, I don’t, that’s totally not true!” Henry squawked. “Tell me who they are, I’ll set them straight.”

This elicited a laugh from the man. “See what I mean? You try and protect me, but you know I can defend myself at the same time. You’re an amazing guy Henry. A-and…” His brilliant smile faltered just a little. “And, you know, it’s okay if you don’t return the feelings, y’know? I mean, I still like you as a friend. You’re my best friend, and just hanging out with you is good enough for me. Things won’t be, uh, weird, right?”

Henry shook his head. “Nah.” _Puppy. He remembered someone else getting called “Pup” in a friendly way. But he didn’t remember it fondly for some reason. Maybe it was a backhanded nickname or pet name that he remembered._ “Charles, you’re the best friend or bro or yin yang partner in crime–er, law–that I can think of. You _do_ deserve someone who doesn’t call you a puppy. Now, they may not be as great as me, because that’s probably not possible, but!”

Charles laughed at this. “I think Ellie would have a different opinion about that.”

“Ellie has an opinion about everything, Charlie. Doesn’t make it true.”

Footsteps emerged from the bathroom. “Am I being sassed behind my back?”

“Yeah!” Henry called. “What’re you gonna do about it?”

Ellie snatched a pillow and threw it at him. Henry caught it and stuffed it behind himself. She puffed with false anger, “You know as well as I do I can’t fight back like this. How _dare_ you attack someone who can’t properly defend herself you _monster._ ”

“Weeeeeeeak!”

“Henry!” Charles laughed, shoving him only hard enough to knock him off balance a little.

“Henny~!” Ellie cooed and flopped down on the couch on Charles’ other side. “That is adorable. You’re still a genius, Charles.”

Henry chipped in, “Charles, can you think of a really bad name for Ellie bean?”

“Like what?” Charles prompted, tipping his head.

“You’re better than names at me, apparently. You think of something.”

Charles hummed and put a finger to his chin. “Well… um… nope. I got nothing.”

“Un _fair_.”

“Totally fair.” Ellie lounged back in her seat. “Now, we gonna watch another movie until Henny passes out or nah?”

“I will _not_ pass out.” He stayed up long enough for enough times with Dave to reasonably stay awake for a while yet.

Ellie closed her eyes with a smug smile. “You totally will.”

“Nope.”

“Prove it.”

“I will. And if I _do_ stay awake by the time the movie ends, I win.”

Ellie opened one eye. “Definitely, dude. Terms of the contract. I’ll humbly offer my deepest, most sincere apologies. _But_ if you do fall asleep, like I know you will, I will show no mercy. Charles, no cheating.”

“I won’t cheat!”

“Sounds like a deal.” Henry laid back against the couch. “…who has the remote?”

The movie had hardly reached the mid marker before the option of mercy was taken off the table.

Henry wasn’t even consciously aware of anything and he already didn’t envy waking up. Still, if there was one good thing about falling asleep first, is that he woke up second. Charles always woke up first, the early bird. Which, Henry recognized that he did today as Charles was cooking something in the other room. Henry considered staying on the couch wrapped up in a nice thick blanket. However, the call of the morning and lull of food pulled him out of his lazy thoughts. He slid off the couch and folded the thick blanket. He grabbed a cup from the floor beside the arm of the couch and filled it with chilly water. In the other room, Ellie had taken a bed. Weirdly, Henry felt there was a difference between sleeping in a bed and sleeping in a cot in the living room. As fun as vengeance would be, there was something totally different here that he didn’t like, a privacy he was invading or something that none of them had in the living room.

Henry backed out and made his way to the kitchen, dumping the cup of water as he did so. On second glance, the orange-ringed cup probably wasn’t as clean as he’d for some reason assumed it would be. Eh. Oh well.

“Good morning~!” Charles trilled, flipping a pancake onto a plate. He grabbed a container of pale, thick batter and poured it onto the pan. “How are you doing this morning?”

Henry bit back a yawn. “Meeeeh, little tired. How do you get up so early?”

“I’m a morning person. Also used to waking up earlier than a lot of people, being in the military. Especially since I always cook my own breakfast, at least at every opportunity I get. What about you?”

“Nah.” Henry stretched and let his arms flop down by his side. He leaned on the counter on the other side of the sink. “We have a cook over at our place. I live with a whole lot of people.”

“Oh, right. Yeah you, uh… yeah, that’s probably… that makes sense.”

“He’s a nice guy. Funnily enough, he didn’t actually commit any crimes. He had a friend who hooked him up. He’d rather chop off his own fingers than make something less than stellar quality. Runs a pretty tight kitchen.”

Charles glanced back at him. “Are there other people that aren’t criminals that work with you?”

“Ehhh… one of the nurses never broke any laws. She was sorta apprenticed to a surgeon who was threatened with jail time for something-or-other to try and intimidate him into shutting his mouth and getting in line. He stole hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment, medicine, and everything in between and high-tailed it to us. The nurse, she didn’t actually participate, though I’m pretty sure she would if he asked or she had been there. So, how about the military? Is everyone some sort of straight-and-narrow saint or do you know anyone with a spicy background?”

Charles flipped the pancake, showing off a beautiful golden-brown bottom. “Yeah, a few people had some rocky lives. You know my friend, Liam, right? He’s another pilot? Pretty good at flying. He uh, he came from a family of drug addicts, so he got in trouble trying to always one-up everyone when he was younger. He’s still really competitive and can be a little harsh, but he’s getting better about it. They’re almost all good people, even if some of them don’t really act like it sometimes. Like Liam, he can be rude when he feels offended or gets competitive, but the rest of the time he’s totally cool.”

Henry thought for a moment. “Is he the one that called you ‘Puppy’ and thought I was imaginary?”

“…yes.” Charles looked back at him. “Wait a second, were _you_ the one who stole all of his left socks?”

Henry grinned. “Yep!”

“Henry!”

“I returned them! It’s not stealing if I return them, right?”

“All tangled up.”

“They weren’t tangled,” Henry chided. “I made a really good rope out of those socks. He should be thankful.”

“They were individually stuffed with cheesy garlic knots and tied so tight together it took three of us to untangle them.”

Henry hesitated. “Wait… really? Oh, man, I forgot about that. Sounds like me. I know someone back home who used to pull legendary pranks. I can only aspire to be near to him.”

Charles nudged the pancake but didn’t flip or plate it. “You still shouldn’t do that. Pranks are only funny when everyone gets a laugh out of them.”

“I beg to differ.”

“Beg all you want, that doesn’t make it true.”

Henry let out an exaggerated sigh. “Alright, alright. I won’t do that again. Feel better?”

Charles fixed him with an unamused stare. “And?”

“And what?”

“I know you, Henry. You’re going to do something else just because I brought it up.”

“What? No, pfft, why would I do that?” _Nothing got past him, huh?_

“Henry.”

“Alright, you caught me, officer. I reiterate: I still didn’t do anything illegal since I gave them back.”

“What about breaking and entering? I don’t remember him telling me he ever invited you into his house.”

Henry opened his mouth to speak and then stopped. “You know… that’s a good point. I didn’t even think about that. I didn’t break anything, though!”

Charles chuckled and plated the now cooked pancake. “Now don’t forget it or I’ll have to get Ellie to arrest you.”

“Ellie?”

“She’s good at catching people. Even if she isn’t a police officer. I’m, eh, not.”

Henry smirked. “So, I can get away with stuff while she’s not here. Got it.” He chuckled. “Or, you know, maybe while she _is_ here…”

“Henry she totally will team up with you and you’re going to get arrested!” Charles puffed, edging the cooking pancake with a spatula. “And for something super minor, too. The General already gave you a pardon. But everyone expects you to go right back to being a criminal, maybe even a notorious one. You don’t have to, you can prove them wrong if you want to.”

 _Heh. And abandon his family? Maybe in some alternate timeline where his parents weren’t Toppats._ “You’re right, I could, technically speaking. But I really can’t. So, what are you making?”

Charles sent him a confused look. “You can’t? Is someone making you?”

“Just a whole extended family whom I was adopted into. Nothing much. So, pancakes?”

“Pancakes and scrambled eggs with sausage and greens mixed in. I-I’m sorry to hear that, Hen. You know, I wouldn’t turn you against your family and all, but if you really wanted to leave, I’d definitely help you. You’d always be safe with us, if you’re worried about it.” Charles grinned back at Henry.

But that wasn’t the problem. If Henry really wanted to, he could just disappear.

“Thanks, Charlie. That means a lot to me.” Henry watched as Charles flipped the pancake, a sudden exhaustion falling over Henry. “Heh. You’re a good friend.”

A moment of silence spanned between them, broken only by the hissing of raw food against hot metal and the scraping of a spatula against the pan. A dozen pancakes were already done, with Charles having to scrape the bowl with a scraper spatula to get the last bit out for the last pancake. Another bowl was beside him, filled with a marbled yellow and clear substance speckled by green and brown.

A door opened further into the house and Ellie, her eyes dull but her feet moving, found them in the kitchen. “Mornin’.”

“Morning,” replied Henry.

“Good morning~!” Charles trilled.

Ellie yawned and ran her fingers through her hair. Though messy with sleep, it was short enough to not look the part. “So whatcha makin’, Chef?”

“Pancakes and scrambled eggs with sausage and greens,” Charles replied, plating the last pancake and bringing his pan to the sink. The water hissed and immediately turned into a cloud of steam upon touching the hot Teflon.

“Oooh, haven’t had pancakes in a while.” Ellie strolled up to the sink where their dirty dishes lay and pulled up her sleeves.

“Hope you like them, then!” Charles hummed, ripping apart the cooking eggs and stirring them, giving the batter no chance to form a solid piece.

Henry nodded. “See, that’s more my pace. I could probably make scrambled eggs.”

Charles perked up. “Oh! I still have some eggs left! Wanna try?”

“A-actually! Forget I said anything!” Henry immediately backpedaled.

Ellie snorted, her eyes brighter as the hot water nearly burned her hands and woke her up. “What? Come on, you’re literally just grabbing the drinks and he’s done practically everything else for you. Get over there and help him, Thief.”

Henry puffed, “Pfft. Yeah, well, I just don’t want to ruin his good cooking.” _Or set off the fire alarm. All those months he spent cooking his own food, and the toaster was his best friend. And cereal._

Charles continued to viciously stab the eggs. “Aw, I’ll help, don’t worry! And even if you _do_ burn them, it’s fine. We already have a lot on our plates, anyway.”

Ellie nodded. “Charles is a superb teacher. He doesn’t even micromanage that much.” Ellie thought for a moment. “Or you could help out with the dishes.”

“You’ve already almost done them.”

“Yeah, but I haven’t dried my hands.” She raised one hand and flicked soapy water in his face.

“Ap! Ellie!” Henry complained, stepping back and wiping off his face. He hesitated. “You didn’t draw on me, did you?”

“Nah, I’ve decided to become a better person.”

Henry turned to Charles, who gave her a skeptical look.

Ellie shrugged. “Or I was fended off. Whichever one. Now go help out or I’ll _dump_ the water on you!”

“Fine, fine!” Henry held up his hands and walked around to Charles’ other side.

Charles scraped the eggs onto a separate plate and set the pan back down. “Cut off a little butter–half a tablespoon, I’ve already cut most of it–and drop it into the pan.” Charles stepped back to give him room.

So, Henry did just that. There were only three and a half tablespoons of butter left, so it wasn’t hard seeing what half a tablespoon was. The butter stuck to the butterknife–which he should’ve seen coming–so he tried to scrape it off with the spatula, but…

“You’ll dirty the knife that way,” Charles explained, holding the spatula out of his grasp. “Just set the knife on the edge of the pan and pull back. The butter will stick to itself, and the heat of the pan will make it slippery. I still want to use this butter for topping the pancakes.”

It was only after Henry did this that he was given back the spatula to poke the melting butter around to cover the pan. There really wasn’t too much in the way of egg batter left, but there was enough to spread to most of the edges of the pan.

“Now, mix it with the spatula. Don’t stop or you’ll let some sides burn. You want to keep it in there until the eggs turn a light amber color but keep it light. Don’t let it darken too much or it will dry out. But if you take it out when it’s too light, it’ll be too wet and probably a little raw inside.”

“Alright, not too dark, not too light,” Henry repeated, cutting apart the eggs with his new cooking instrument.

“And don’t be afraid to flip it if it’s being stubborn and won’t flip on its own. Just be careful of letting it get too close to the edge, or it might fall out. But you shouldn’t worry too much. You’re actually pretty good at it!”

Henry smiled a little at that. Huh. He wasn’t burning it or doing as badly as he expected, which was better than most other times when he made scrambled eggs and got paranoid about them being raw. Raw egg was just gross.

Quite soon, the eggs were a light amber. As they were no longer yellow or white, and now threatened to turn into a brownish color, Charles encouraged him to pour it on the plate over the rest of the scrambled eggs. He didn’t need to scrape out the small bits that had stuck to the pan for some reason, as it would just be better to wash them off.

“Which,” Ellie said, putting their clean and dry dishes in the sink, “I think would be best for you to do.”

“Why is that?” Henry reciprocated.

“I dunno. I just don’t want to.”

Charles chipped in, “Well, Henry helped me cook. So, I think it’s fair. Plus, it’s not too much since I was cleaning as I cooked. Wasn’t that a rule at your house to? The cook didn’t clean?”

“…okay, true. Just toss them in the sink and I’ll deal with them after. Now come _on_ , we gotta eat!”

Henry took the plates of food to the table. “In a hurry?”

“Actually, yeah,” Ellie answered, leaning on her chair. “I still got physical therapy to do tonight, so I need to get on my bike soon to get there in time. Mom chewed me out the last time I even _thought_ of being late. She’s psychic, I swear.”

Charles sat down and chuckled. “My parents are like that, too. I think it’s a parent thing.”

Henry brought the juice out of the fridge. “Tell me about it. I rarely get away with stuff with my dads.”

“Rarely?”

“They’re busy people, and Katie is a walking, talking alibi. Less so now that we’re older.”

“Maaaaaan, wish I had that,” said Ellie.

Charles shook his head. “General Galeforce won’t let me get away with anything. No one on base wants to toe the line with him, since he figures stuff out pretty quickly on his own.”

“Well then,” Henry announced, scooping eggs onto his plate. “We better get started.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favorite quote from the movie. Family is extraordinarily important.
> 
> So, Charles is still a cook, Ellie still lives on the extreme but knows when to "go to the bathroom," and Henry's learning not to be so guilty! I'd say that is a success.


	3. And the Underground Will Go Empty (1/6)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry needed help. He needed the advice of his friend. He could count on Ellie, always. She would know what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired Endings: TK, GSPI

# Chapter One

_But Sometimes to Do Some Good,_

Ellie was his best friend. They’ve known each other for years. Henry could trust her.

Sherman had nothing new to report, but they did go over the mission again. Plans A-D were completely filled in, and everything at least looked well. Sherman congratulated him on his recovery as they parted ways.

Henry found Ellie walking through one of the hallways near the Bay. “Hey, Ellie!”

Ellie stopped and turned her attention on him. “Hey, Papa Hen! What’s up?”

Henry stopped before her and raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“You look… sorry, guess it’s nothing.” _Henry did have a problem with projecting._ “Actually, I wanted to ask for your advice. Do you have a moment?”

Ellie shrugged. “Yeah, sure.” She walked into the first open room–Records. Once the door was shut and they knew they were alone, Ellie leaned against one of the cabinets. “What’s up?”

“I was just talking to Dad Reginald,” Henry began. “And we were talking about the rocket plan. It turns out that he’s not taking any prisoners aboard the station.”

Ellie, expression unreadable, prompted, “And what exactly does that mean?”

“He said that having a prisoner would weigh us down,” Henry explained. “He didn’t tell me what he was going to _do_ with him, just that we didn’t have the attention to spare for him. I just… what should I ask him? To let him go?”

“That’s what you want, right?”

“Well, yes, but… I dunno, what if he gets suspicious of me? I’ve already shown that I can be empathetic to prisoners. Albeit I was eleven, but Katie and I were almost lost forever. He knows that Katie’s way too suspicious of him. But I’ve already taken Brig duty off a bunch of other people, so what if he just… what if he thinks I’m bias and decides to do something rash?” Henry rambled, scrambling to put his thoughts into coherent order.

After a few moments’ silence, Ellie said, “Okay. You want him to be happy, right?”

“Yes! Of course!”

“You know your father better than anyone else, Henry. If you’re that worried, I could sneak him out right after landing. You’ll be out in the defense and I’ll be with Joan doing some of the more down-low work. When Dave goes missing, no one will know,” Ellie offered. “In fact, no one will probably care unless they’re reminded, meaning Dave will have a _huge_ head start to get away from the Clan.”

Henry bit his tongue. _Dave gets to escape, Henry stays out of trouble, and the rocket launches without a problem_. “Are… you sure, Ellie? That this is–I mean, what if… something happens?”

Ellie snorted. “Have faith, Papa Hen. Nothing’s going to happen to me.” She took a deep breath. “Hey, I have a favor to ask.”

“Yeah?” Henry perked up.

“I’ll help you, no matter what. You’re my best friend,” Ellie said. “But, I, um… have my own business I want to do tonight.” A slight reddish hue brushed her cheeks. “So, after we’re done talking to Dave I want to head out. Can you cover for me over breakfast, if someone asks?”

“Definitely!” was Henry’s immediate answer. “I’ll definitely help you.”

Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Henry. So, do you want to talk to him or should we both? Since, you know, this is gonna affect him the most.”

Henry nodded. “Yeah. That’s a good idea. Do you want to meet me in my room…?”

“Sure. Sounds like a plan! See you there, Papa Hen.” She patted him on the head and walked out the door.

Henry’s smile fell. So, it was either give Dave an almost guaranteed free life–as he knew the man was too much trouble to track down again–and risk Ellie’s neck, or stay out entirely? Heh. He could also risk himself, which would go _really well_ since he had his own responsibilities and no time to sneak Dave anywhere.

Well, at least this wasn’t Charles they were talking about.

And it never would be, since Charles wasn’t going to be their prisoner.

Henry sat on his bed, watching the bathroom door, tapping his fingers on his knee. He gave Dave a suit and a jacket and hat. Depending on which he chose, they would either stay in Henry’s room or go outside to the gym or balcony or a stroll through the hallways. Today, Ellie was going to be here, and Henry made sure to tell him. It wouldn’t be right to talk about a plan involving Ellie without involving Ellie in the discussion, after all.

The bathroom door opened. Dave, in his security uniform, left the bathroom. A twinge of disappointment bit his chest, but he ignored it. Dave sat on the bed across from him. “So… once Ellie gets here, we’ll talk about whatever it is you wanted to talk to me about?”

Henry nodded. “Yep. So… this talk will take up a good chunk of time. Um… Ellie won’t be staying over. She has some business elsewhere.”

“Okay.”

…

Henry started to speak when a knock came to the door. They looked up to see the door open without any further warning. Ellie strolled inside, sans hat but still wearing her formal clothes. She plopped down on the bed by Henry’s right side. “So! Henry? Do you want to start?”

Henry started. “Uh… sure.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, Dave. Dad Reginald told me that we were not going to be having any prisoners soon. So, Ellie and I were mulling over our options–yours, mine, and hers. But, this hinges on what you want to do. After all, it’s not fair of us to make a plan to help you without your consent or even knowing one hundred percent what you would like to do.”

Dave blinked. “Wh… what? What are you saying?”

Henry took a deep breath. “Okay. So, I just wanted to know what you wanted to do. After this. When it comes time to decide what to do with our prisoner, what do you want me to convince him to do, or do behind his back, depending? This could be anything, Dave. Most anything.”

Dave thought for a moment. “So… you can set me free?”

“If that’s what you want, definitely,” Henry stated.

Dave blinked. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. For a few seconds, he was silent. Then, his misty eyes now meeting Henry’s again, he said, “I want to be free. Outside.”

“Done,” Henry declared. “Ellie and I will make sure you make it far away from the Clan, unfollowed.”

Dave bit his own hand, but his shock and joy and relief spilled over his cheeks, nonetheless. Henry got up and made it approximately one and a half steps before Dave launched himself off the bed and tackled him with a hug that forced the air from his lungs. “Thank you,” he managed to squeak. “God, just… thank you, Henry, Ellie. I thought I would die here.” He tried to take a breath, but it came out as a choked sob.

Henry, hugging him back, careful of his new mechanical strength, laughed. The noise came out broken, Dave’s overwhelming, turbulent emotions infectious. “Be ready, okay? Soon enough, Ellie’s going to take you out of here. I’ll stay behind. No one will be the wiser.”

He could feel the side of the former security guard’s head brushed against his own in a nod. His fingers curled into half-fists, wrinkling the material of the back of Henry’s jacket.

Ellie cut in after a quiet few moments passed, “I need to go. Good… goodnight.”

Henry called after her, his voice quiet as to not hurt Dave’s ears, “Goodnight, Ellie bean.”

The door closed behind her.

Slowly, Dave relaxed his hands and pulled himself back. He rubbed his wrist against his eyes with an uneven chuckle. “Aw, fuck. I haven’t… not, you know, in-in a long time.”

Henry shrugged. “I bring out the best and worst in people, so I’ve been told.”

Dave took another calming breath. “Jeez, I need to calm down. Thank you, Henry.”

“Heh. You’re, uh, welcome, Dave.” _Go away squishy feeling, no one wants you._ “Do you, uh… want to do anything? Whatever you want, man.”

Dave sighed. “I… don’t know.”

Henry sat down in his bed. Dave was soon to follow. “Well, we could celebrate prematurely and ruin our luck. I could sneak out, get a few drinks, snacks.”

Dave looked at him with a new, different kind of interest. “You know, I haven’t had a drink since, um, since before I-I became a security guard.”

The thief pushed himself up. “That settles it, then. I’ll be right back. If nothing else, I’ll just sneak into Howie’s room. He doesn’t drink very much now a days, but he still loves the challenge of stealing them and putting them back.”

Henry didn’t quite know what snacks were appropriate for a two-person party celebrating a jail break. So, he spent a few minutes wandering the kitchen before snatching a bottle of wine, a few slices of wedding-style cake–congratulations on the kid, Smith!–and some strawberries. After everything was said and done, he was going to give Dave a lifetime supply of strawberries and there was not a soul on Earth who could stop him.

When Henry got back, Dave was by the foot of Henry’s bed, having plugged in Dave’s phone charger and phone into the power strip near Henry’s bed. Well, it was supposed to be near his bed in case he needed to charge his cybernetics, but it had migrated further up toward his computer. He held up his loot, grinning.

Turns out, there weren’t really any movies for the occasion. They ended up watching one but got distracted talking and completely skipped over half of it. As the movie was over on the computer they faced, the only source of light came from the open bathroom. Now they sat on Henry’s bed, probably since the second bed hadn’t been used in _literal years_ so it wasn’t as comfortable or clean. Henry should probably change that. Though, he didn’t have a roommate and even with all the new recruits and transfers, no one asked or was assigned. Which, for Dave, was good, he supposed. Speaking of which, they were down the wine and cake, and most of the strawberries. Some of the reddish liquid smudged Dave’s lips and smeared on his chin, where he had attempted to eat one, but Henry nudged him, and Dave ended up missing almost entirely. The same sticky flesh now crossed over Henry’s cheek, nearly touching his eye. The unfortunate security guard did not get his strawberry back and in fact almost got a bitten finger out of the deal.

“You’re a fuggin’ animal,” Dave pointed out, clutching his fingers in his other hand.

Henry, who’d sunk his teeth into the strawberry near the middle of what was left of it, tipped his head back to allow gravity to drop it in his mouth. His left arm was deactivated, and he didn’t feel like raising his right arm for such a trivial task.

“Did you just swallow that?!” Dave squawked. “Whole?!”

Henry, who most indeed swallowed the top half of a large strawberry whole and was _not_ currently trying to choke it down without actually choking, gave him the thumbs up. He coughed upon feeling the painful lump go down. “You’re damn right I did.”

“You unhinged your jaw and swallowed it like an-an anaconda, Jesus!”

Henry snorted. “Well, I downed an entire twenty-four-ounce bottle of water in one go as well as a hotdog–bun and all, of course–and a donut. Almost got that baked potato but I ended up choking. Does deepthroating a banana count? I ate that, too, after, but I peeled it like a civilized person. Sooooo nothing new.”

“What even _are_ you?”

“A human with more pride than water in his body and virtually no gag reflex.” Henry coughed again and swallowed, his throat still a little sore from the trail the unyielding fruit forced. He was almost afraid he’d throw up but forced himself to keep it down. He would _not_ be beaten by _half_ a piece of fruit. Henry leaned on the man’s forearm and looked up into his face. “So, what are your best food exploits, berry guy?”

Dave narrowed his eyes in thought. “Uh… I dunno. I ate a cherry pie by myself. Does that count?”

“In one sitting?”

“…yeah.”

“Whole?”

“No, I didn’t fuggin’ eat a cherry pie whole!” Dave crossed. “I did eat it by myself. I got mad at my cousins for somethin’ and locked myself in a closet and ate their pie. Fuggin’ hate cherries. But my little cousins love them.”

“You ate an entire pie you absolutely hated out of _spite?_ Whose story was that?”

“Mine.” Dave hiccupped and gagged.

“You know, you’re a lightweight,” Henry pointed out, his smile wide and mischievous. “Just like my dad. He’s jus’ _gone_ after like, three margaritas. Only drinks the fruity stuff, too. Absolutely can’t stand anything that doesn’t taste like an entire rainbow. Oh. Damn, I shoulda asked you about that. We have some, I think. Not getting it now, though.”

Dave snorted. “Well betcha would if you could stand.”

“Totally can stand, dude!”

“Then do it!”

“No!”

“Why not?”

“My arm’s tired!” Henry picked up his unresponsive left arm as evidence and dropped it, allowing it to fall by his side. “Now you do it.”

Dave held up both of his arms, shifting Henry’s place on his forearm as he did so. Henry flopped back onto the bed, eyes shut, and his right hand loosely set on his upper stomach. “Show off. I fell off a cliff! And lived!”

Dave lay down as well, though he didn’t decide to obey gravity as readily as Henry and instead lay down more slowly and carefully. “I know. I didn’t see you for forever. It was terrifying.” A sudden somber frown crept its way onto his features. “No one, no one’d tell me what happened. An’ I didn’t wanna ask in case that gotcha in trouble or somethin’.”

Henry hummed, smiling. “Awwww… you care for me~…!”

“You’re fuggin’ great,” Dave reciprocated. “An’ you have no sense of self… self… uh… safety. You scared me, man.”

“Nah, I can’t die,” Henry stated, still not opening his eyes. “The universe won’t lemme. I fell off a cliff and got in a crash an’ got kidnapped as a kid and I’m still alive.”

“Thaz insane.”

“Yeah.”

Henry opened his eyes to look at Dave, who stared at the dark ceiling above. Man, going outside onto the balcony would’ve been great. But that’s not what Dave wanted, and Henry wanted to give him as many options as he could. Dave was a good man deprived of control over himself. But he’d be free, soon. Go wherever he wanted after. Man, Henry was kinda tired. It’d been a day, after all, and was now closing in on 2:00 A.M. if his watch was any indicator of the time, which it always was because it was a watch.

“I never got kidnapped as a kid,” Dave admitted. “I got my lunch money stolen, though.”

“Did you beat them up?”

“I’d think fuggin’ not,” Dave crossed. “I didn’t wanna fight.” He yawned, his eyelids drooping the same way Henry’s did. It was then Henry realized he’d been only half aware of his eyes as he’d been staring at his lips. He probably tasted like strawberry. That wasn’t a bad taste, now that Henry thought about it. The surviving strawberries were huddled on a plate somewhere on the floor beside the bed. It had originally been on the bed before Henry nearly smacked it off, which would’ve resulted in strawberries on the floor and then Dave would have to wash them off. Again. He always washed his fruit and veggies before eating them. Even when locked up in a cell, he’d tried his best to dampen a napkin and wash off anything he’d been given that could be washed off. He had to know any one of the chefs on the airship would balk had they discovered their food had been made subpar or even made dangerous due to their own neglect, much less willfully. He was like a big, cuddly raccoon that probably tasted like strawberries.

“You okay?” Dave asked, patting Henry’s arm to wake him from his half-dreams.

“H-huh? Oh, yeah. Fine.” He met Dave’s gaze. “Totally fine. What’s up? Did you say something?”

“Well, I was jus’ saying that I don’t like to fight. But I’d totally, like, get in a fight for you. Cuz I like you. You could defend yourself, though. Don’t need my help for that.”

“Yeeeah, I like you, too,” said Henry, his concentration–whatever shambles of it still clung to his last working braincells, at least–growing ever more muddled.

“I was thinking,” Dave went on, the slur in his voice even worse now that the lateness of the night started to take its toll, “–like, I like you, man. You’ve been great to me. And, like, you’re willing to risk all that for me? You’d go against your criminal code or whatever for _me?_ An’ I was like… I liked you, you know? But it’s like… I-I don’t know. I like you more, now? I didn’t know I could do that. Iz weird.”

“You know, I really like you, too,” Henry admitted. “An’… you know, maybe me, too. I mean, I dunno. Maybe. Yeah. D’jzou have a partner or somethin’? Back home?”

“I had Rupert an’ then Kurt,” Dave explained, looking back up at the ceiling. “I was Rupert’s partner for like a few months b’fore I was fired an’ then was stationed with Kurt for a while. B’fore the explosion.” He blinked. “Oh, wait. You-you mean like being married or something? No. I’z never married or anything.”

“So, you weren’t _with_ them?”

“No! No fuggin’ way. I liked Rupert, he’s my friend. But-but not like that, y’know? Kurt didn’t like me. What about you?”

“No one on the airship,” Henry stated immediately. “That would be too much.”

“So… not-not Ellie?”

“Ellie?” Henry parroted, almost believing he’d misheard the man. “No way! She’s my best friend. ’Sides, she’s not interested in… eh… ‘Just anyone with a Y chrom’some’ or whatever she called it. So, no. An’ I mean… Charles an’ I have been friends forever, but, like, I’m not really his type. He’s prob way more into the type a’ people he works with or somethin’. Heroes that d’feat bad guys. May not even, y’know, be into Y chrom’somes, either, ya’know?”

Dave nodded. “Hmm, yeah. Thaz Rupert.”

Henry sniffed, his eyes drifting down again. “So, like… you’re like that or…?”

“Huh?” The former security guard’s gaze was back on Henry. “What’d’you mean?”

Henry almost felt… bashful, afraid, perhaps? But that probably didn’t matter or something, it wasn’t a big feeling. They weren’t big feelings. “I mean, the Y thing.”

“The Y thing,” Dave repeated, more as a statement than a request for confirmation. “I mean, I, uh, dunno. Straight family, straight friends, that-that sorta thing. But maybe, I dunno. What… what about you?”

“Sure,” Henry muttered. “I mean, I’m not a biology major or an’thing, so I don’t care about Xs or Ys or whatever. Women, though. They’re more work.” He shifted and set his head on Dave’s shoulder. They were about the same height, give or take an inch or two. “Guys are… pretty straight with, you know, stuff. So iz like, sure.”

Dave’s arm brushed against him and his hand ran over the cuff of Henry’s sleeve until he found his hand. As Henry had taken off his gloves, he could feel Dave’s fingers intertwined with his own. It was nice, being able to feel. More than that, being able to feel with something so sensitive as his fingers. Despite years of use, they were sensitive, quick, twitchy at times. Made for slight of hand, for pickpocketing and lockpicking and snagging small objects out of small openings. Dave’s hands were not. They were thicker, firmer, trained to hold a weapon or a person, depending on circumstance. Henry knew this bit by experience. In their sparring matches, once Dave got a firm hold of Henry, it was a quick trip to _game over_. Dave was reserved, and understandably anxious, but he was confident in his field of expertise. For some reason, Henry felt like he remembered Dave tasering him, but he couldn’t recall from where or when.

Henry pushed himself another nonexistent inch or so closer and touched his nose to the man’s cheek. He could feel the slight change in his breathing, at least a small pause as he took a sharp breath and held it. Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone. He turned his body over, pushing his elbow back so he was on his side. Henry did not have to reach for him, now.

Heh. He did taste like strawberries.

Henry had forgotten, momentarily, his arm lay uselessly at his side and refused to respond. So, though he tried to pull himself up onto his side, tried to hold onto Dave, he failed. The former security guard had no such inability and held him, hooking his arm under Henry’s to pull it over himself.

Intoxicated in more ways than one, excitement overtaking his gentle sleepiness, Henry let go of his hand and managed to snake his fingers under the hem of Dave’s… suit? Uniform, right. Shirt, whatever it was called.

Dave tensed in his grasp and pulled away. Not quite far enough away that Henry’s left arm would fall off, but enough to put the tiniest bit of space between them. The light shone behind Dave, so through Henry’s already muddled senses, he couldn’t quite discern the look on his face. “I-I’m sorry.” The words came out small, breathless.

Henry pulled his arm back so his hand hid underneath of himself. “N-no, um, no. Don’t, uh, be sorry.”

Dave retreated into himself a little. “Sorry, iz just… I mean, I…”

“No, iz fine,” Henry reassured him. “Do you, uh… well, uhm…”

…

Dave reached up and stuck his fingers beneath a panel on Henry’s arm. The bulb inlay on Henry’s left hand flickered to life, albeit too dull to really cast a glow over anything. Dave managed another “sorry” before slipping out of Henry’s grasp. His fine motor skills hadn’t returned to him, but neither had Henry’s, so to the floor he fell. The cyborg was on his feet and helping Dave up.

“Uh, you want me to bring you back?” Henry offered, trying desperately to sober up enough to help Dave.

“Um, sure,” he muttered.

The hallway was not _that_ wide, allowing for about three or four people to walk comfortably side-by-side. At a certain point every few yards, there was a massive doorway with a door that could slide down via magnets, completely cutting off that part of the hallway. Thankfully, these also happened to work as some sort of structure to catch him if he started to fall. The real test came in getting down to the Brig. But their ladder climbing skills weren’t lost.

“Thanks, Henry,” said Dave. “You… you’re good.”

“Uh, you’re welcome.”

…

Henry stepped back and, making sure Dave was a safe distance away, shut the door. He made his way back to his room, alone and extremely off balance. Thankfully, he made it to his room in one piece. But injury was not inescapable. For, as he climbed into bed, his foot sank into something somehow both firm and squishy.

The strawberries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Strawberries.
> 
> So, I like ships mostly based in canon, but in AUs (or even fanfictions set squarely in canon) I like ships made in context. A ship between two characters who have had the development, have the connection and have something between them that they can work with. It's one of the biggest reasons I'll tolerate Stickvin, or even like it in some fanfictions.  
> Also, Fiddleford/Stanford was a contextual ship, as was Frisk/Chara. _I would NEVER ship Fiddauthor in canon. Probably not Henpan, either, tbh but just not as adamantly_
> 
> Oh, right, and first chapter of six~! See those tagged endings? I sure hope I'm not predictable by this point because I'm kinda excited about this one. ~~_I'm excited about all of them but shush_~~


	4. My Kingdom for a Ship (1/5)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellie was Henry's friend, but this wasn't something that should wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired ending: TK, TR/PP

# Chapter One

_Giving Up_

Ellie was Henry’s friend, but she couldn’t just… spring this on him!

“Ellie, I’m sorry, but we’ve been planning this for a while,” Henry said, his voice dragging a little in hesitance. “Can we talk after? It’ll just be a few hours. We can meet up in Records or your room or wherever you want.”

Ellie started to speak, but shut her mouth and nodded. “…okay, yeah. Sure. Just… don’t forget, okay? Meet me back in my room?”

“Yeah, yeah of course.”

“Don’t need to knock,” she said, walking away.

Henry called after her as he left, “Okay!” _Damn, she looked serious, but this just wasn’t a good time. Ellie, please!_

Regardless, he met Howie at one of the pods near storage, just down the hall from the Brig. This was the one Afanasiy used to kidnap him and Katie.

* * * * *

As soon as Henry’s feet touched the solid floor of the airship, Henry was making his way to the Living Quarters. Ellie’s room was at the far end, just one away from the catwalk that led over the Brig and Engine. Henry raised his hand to knock, but instead pressed the button.

Ellie sat cross-legged on the floor, elbows on her knees and chin in her hands and hard gaze on the mess of papers on the floor. A manila envelope sat on the floor a few feet away, discarded. She didn’t look up when Henry entered. Henry glanced over the documents. He found the Toppat Clan logo on them, which was to be expected. Numbers–those were dates, and amounts. Monetary value, weight, amount–all kinds of stuff snatched in heists. Names were there, too. Names of items, titles, and even people.

Henry sat down beside Ellie. “What’s this?”

Ellie shut her eyes. “Henry, I was going to join the Toppat Clan. I had been planning to before you asked me, before I was locked away at the Wall. It’s not because I wanted to be a Toppat or a criminal of any kind. I was having fun as a mercenary. I was my own boss, making my own hours and charging my own prices. But I take on all sorts of jobs from all sorts of people. Charles came up to me just a week before I was arrested and sent to the Wall. He said Captain Galeforce had a job for me.”

Henry followed her gaze to the papers before her. Henry’s name was in a few. Howie’s, Dad Reginald’s, Dad Right’s, Cool Katie’s, Wallace’s, Miss Demeanor’s–names were scattered amongst them. Those weren’t just heists, those were business deals, a list of corrupt public figures.

“He knew that you were my friend, that I associated with criminals. He knew that I wasn’t technically government affiliated. I had skills, potential. Potential for good things, and for bad. So, he said he’d hire me. He’d pay me a flat amount at the start, pay me again for each objective I complete, and then offer me a place in the military at the end. I would get to work with Charles way more often. The mercenary life was fun, but it was inconsistent. This would be consistency in way more than just the financial means.”

Ellie hadn’t moved. Her eyes were closed, now. In fact, were it not for the fact her lips moved as she spoke, he’d think she was asleep. “It wouldn’t be an easy job, he said, but I would be able to do it. I might need to do some bad things to fit in, but it’ll be worth it in the end. Sometimes I think about that line. I would be doing bad things, but it was all for the greater good. Like he had done it before; committed crimes in the name of the law. I didn’t know you were a Toppat. When you gave me that opportunity, when you offered to recruit me, I was just… I don’t know. I didn’t know what to feel. You would give me an easy ride, clear a whole bunch of obstacles for me, get this done quickly. But you would be among the people we were going to arrest.”

She let out a quiet sigh. “But I decided against that. You’re my friend, Henry. I asked the Captain, and he said that if I did this job right, we could talk about you. Letting you go free or taking a few years off your sentence. I thought about it. I thought about what would happen if I brought this airship down or helped at least. He gave me a few options. I could arrest the airship division or arrest their leader. Either would do for now, just as long as they got something out of the deal.”

Henry felt sick. She’d been there for how long now? Almost two months? At any point of time, she could have swiped something from Records and went on her merry way. Dad Reginald and Dad Right trusted her because of Henry. She had all the opportunity in the world–especially since she knew where he slept and could get a general feel for his daily schedule–to take him. Henry could go to sleep one night after a day of planning and wake up to having only one parent, or none or down a best friend or both, depending.

Ellie said, “I can’t do it. I… I tried. But you’re my best friend. I remember our whole lives you were so happy when you talked about your family. Even if we never went over to your house, you talked about it as if it was the greatest place on Earth. Howie was such a great guy. Now that I’ve been here a while, there are great people here. But I can do my job. Henry, if you weren’t here, I could honestly say I would’ve taken down this entire ship. Today. It would have been today.”

Henry finally found his voice. “Wh… what? What do you mean?”

“You’ve noticed the bad luck we’ve been having, right?” Ellie asked. “The sudden appearance of more guards, higher security, surprise change of plans? For weeks I’ve been stealing plans and sending over important dates and times to the government, who in turn prepared the various places you were going to hit. One of the Captain’s objectives was to basically starve you into action; make you go broke enough to get desperate and slip up. Last time we met, I told them there was something big planned. Not a heist.”

“The rocket.”

Ellie nodded. “Captain said he couldn’t let this rocket plan go through. Our tactics were going to be too slow; you’d be in space by the time we could get close to finishing. When you were there, you’d be unstoppable. Defenses be damned. So, today, just hours ago, I was going to get you to convince the chief to take us north, over Texas and toward Oklahoma. By the time this ship got to the ambush site, it would be dark, and they’d have the upper hand with ground defenses and flying vehicles. I would have slipped out and joined them on the ground. Or I’d get a bonus for capturing the chief and bringing him with me. There was the possibility you could get away, after all. They could take no chances with Chief Reginald.”

Henry looked from the papers to Ellie. “Then what are you doing here?”

Ellie opened her eyes and turned to Henry. “Outing myself. Henry, I thought about it while you were gone with Howie. I decided I can’t do this. I want to be with you. I want to be a Toppat. So, I pulled together everything I had about the government, as well as everything I would have _given_ to the government, and I want to give it over to you and the chief. Then, it’s your decision.”

Henry smiled. “So, you are double crossing the people who asked you to double cross us?”

A faint smile appeared on Ellie’s features. “Yeah. Guess so.”

Henry got up. “Come on. Pick all that up. We’re taking this to Dad Reginald. Ellie, you decided your loyalty was with us, even when you had all the reason in the world to do the opposite. I think that’s pretty cool.”

Ellie sighed and, with a small smile, packed up the envelope and walked with Henry down the hall. “Thanks.”

“I can’t guarantee what my parents will say,” Henry admitted, his smile faltering. “After all, this is pretty serious. In fact, maybe I should have just taken the folder and tossed you into an escape pod or something.” He turned his gaze to her. “Do you want to do that? Not risk anything?”

Ellie raised an eyebrow. “‘Not risk anything?’ After what I did? Heh.”

…

Ellie’s eyebrows contracted and she slowed to a stop. Henry matched her. “Do you know what would happen? Either way?”

“If I take you to my parents, one of two things could happen. They could see you double-crossing the government for the sake of the Toppat Clan as a _good_ thing, as you doing something for the Clan. They’d still be pressed to punish your actions, but probably nothing as extreme as banishment or something. _Or_ they could see it as disloyalty being disloyalty, paired with everything you’ve already done, making you incredibly untrustworthy. As you’re my friend and I trusted you, I’d be incredibly surprised if they even let me talk much less consider what I had to say.” Henry tipped his head a little. “On the other hand, you could take a hike. Permanently. I’d give over everything you gave me, and I could lie and say I told you to wait in your room. If they bought it, they’d scold me for being dumb enough to leave you alone–being my friend or not–or they could accuse me of orchestrating the whole thing–letting you leave–and that might come back a little hard. But! I’m fairly high ranking and I’m their son. They know I’m loyal to the Toppats. I’m a Toppat to the core, there’s nothing anyone can do to change that. They definitely wouldn’t take their anger on you out on me, of course.”

Ellie sighed. “I don’t want you getting punished over something I did.”

A thought popped into his head. “Ellie, I know you. You _would_ take responsibility. But how about I make you a deal: you can do whichever option you want. But, if you decide to flee, you’ll do it on one condition: take Dave and make it _obvious_ you wanted to take him as one last thing your government-aligned heart wanted to do. Now, if you stay, you gotta face the consequences. But! You would do that anyway because you’re a good person.”

The redhead slowly nodded. “Okay. Henry, I’ve done a lot of things that hurt you– _could_ hurt you. I was ready to use your trust against you and arrest your father. So, I will go with you.”

Dad Reginald and Dad Right were in the Bridge, Dad Right piloting the ship. Henry called as he got close, “Dads?”

They turned back to look at him. Reginald prompted, “Yes?”

“Ellie’s got something very important to tell you,” Henry said, stopping before them. “Like, _really_ important. Do you have a minute? Now?”

Dad Reginald flashed a look at Dad Right and nodded. “Of course. Let me set the auto-pilot.” He turned back to the control panel and messed with it a little before getting up. “Come along, follow me.” Dad Reginald immediately left, glancing back only to make sure he was being followed. His office thankfully was not too far past the Warehouse.

Henry closed the door behind them.

“Now,” said Dad Reginald. “What did you need to tell me?”

Henry looked at Ellie, who threw a short glance right back. She took a deep breath and held out the folder in her arms for Dad Reginald to take. He took the material and immediately glanced over the pages. His eyebrows furrowed, most likely upon seeing that not all of the papers held the same insignia. Ellie explained what she had done, telling Dad Reginald and Dad Right what she had told Henry almost verbatim. It didn’t take long at all to pique both of the men’s interest, and suspicion, though Dad Right wasn’t at all as obvious.

Dad Reginald stood up straight and shut the envelope. “And you have been doing this since you got here?”

Ellie nodded. “Technically, yes. I haven’t actually reported any names, yet. I thought if the day after I got here someone like Matilda or Thomas got arrested despite staying on the airship most of the time, that might arouse suspicion. So, I’ve mainly been leaking information about the where and when. I managed to get a couple of people arrested or driven out, like that mayor that lives here, now.”

Dad Reginald hummed. “Whatever is in this folder will mirror that?”

“No, sir,” Ellie responded. Henry raised his eyebrows. Huh. That word _was_ in her dictionary. “That is my biggest reveal. It has names of people, crimes, all types of incriminating information. That’s what would have given them the go ahead to put down the airship.”

“And this was going to happen when?”

“Tonight. I would have left tonight. I was actually going to talk to Henry about it this afternoon. I was _planning_ on trying to persuade him to come with me and hand this over, earn himself a pardon so that he wouldn’t be arrested with you. But he blew me off and I had some more time to think about it. I decided against it.”

“I didn’t blow you off,” Henry couldn’t help but interject.

“Fine. Didn’t entertain my idea for a while,” Ellie corrected herself.

Reginald looked down at the folder for a little longer. “And if you did not report to base tonight?”

“I don’t think anything would happen,” Ellie confessed. “I told them I should be reporting back to base tonight, _but_ something might come up and I may be delayed another night or two. As long as I’m back by the end of the week and give them the heads up, I should be good. Any longer, or if I don’t hold communication, they might assume the worst and attack anyway.”

Dad Reginald nodded. “Well, we will need to discuss this further. In the meantime, I can’t trust you alone, unsupervised. I will allow you to communicate back to base that you will not be coming back for tonight, then you’ll need to stay in the Brig a few days.”

Ellie nodded. “I understand, sir.”

“W-wait, can’t she stay with me?” Henry chipped in. “I can watch her, right?”

“Henry, you allowed her onto the ship,” Dad Reginald countered, his voice much sharper with him. “In fact, were it not for her change in heart, you would have remained oblivious and this entire division could have been taken down.”

Henry set a hand on the back of his neck. “Well, I guess.”

“So, _you_ will get the repercussions of that, too. Until further notice, you won’t be treated as an elite and given no ability to take responsibility for planning or heists and most _definitely_ not with recruitment. Do you understand?”

Henry shrunk into himself a little and looked away. “Yeah, Dad. Boss.”

“Okay. Henry, as I know you must not have anything else planned tonight, report back to your room. You aren’t coming out until breakfast.”

Henry repeated his earlier line.

“Dismissed. Ellie, stay here.”

With that, Henry walked off, back to his room. He was about halfway there before Howie met him in the hall. “Howdy! Er–what’s that look fer?”

Henry stopped and chuckled. “W-well, uh… I kinda might have messed up a little. So, I’m pretty much, uh, grounded. Until Dad Reginald and Dad Right think of something else.”

Howie raised his eyebrows. “Now what could ya have done in the twenty minutes since I last saw you that could warrant _that?_ ”

“I… will tell you later. I don’t think they’d appreciate me just telling you right now. I, uh, gotta go back to my room. Goodnight, Howie!”

“G’night, li’l buddy…?”

Henry sat down at his chair and put on his headphones. If he were six years younger, this would not have been an ability he had. At least Ellie could explain to Dave what happened tonight so it wouldn’t leave him questioning why Henry wasn’t coming back tonight. Or probably tomorrow, though Henry doubted that.

The helicopter icon was lit up. So, Henry sent a message. “Hey, Charlie? What’s up?”

“Nothing much! Just got off work. Actually, I’m gonna leave in a few minutes to hang out with the boys. You?”

“Just staying in my room. Gonna catch up on some personal stuff since I’ve caught a break from work.” _Ha!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Ellie Rose has left the game._   
>  **VICTORY**
> 
> Well, well, well, what do we have here? Is that a... traitor I see? Or, more specifically? An Imposter? >w>
> 
> When really give time to think over things, Ellie found where she was most comfortable, where her loyalties lie. Charles is a great person, he really is, but this wasn't his neck they were talking about.


	5. Protagonists and Heroes (1/4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles didn't know Henry as well as he thought. It's been so many years, he may as well finally tell the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired endings: VH, T4L

# Chapter One

_And You, My Father, There on the Sad Height,_

Just… get it over with.

The movie blundered on in the background. Charles and Henry sat together on the hotel room couch, Charles not-so-patiently watching Henry, and Henry hoping for nothing more than for the couch to open up and swallow him whole. “Charles, I… I need to tell you something.” He kept his voice low, almost drowned beneath the chattering of the television. “You really aren’t going to like it. But I want you to think about it before, you know, talking about anything else?”

“…yeah…?”

“Charles, you’ve pretty much always been in the government. Your family generations before you were even born were in the army and now, you’re an ace pilot. I… I’m not, obviously. But my family is not in the tech business,” Henry stated. “I’m not in the tech business. I was adopted when I was eleven years old, into the infamous _Toppat Clan_. By the then-second, now-Chief Reginald and his Right Hand Man. I was raised to be, and became, a Toppat. A well-ranked one, now, who is pretty involved in a lot of the action. I even got the Tunisian Diamon in a solo mission.”

…

Charles just stared at Henry as if he’d started speaking a different language. Henry _had_ been speaking English, right? He didn’t switch to Russian? Why would he switch to speaking Russian and not know about it?

Finally, the ace pilot chuckled, though there was no humor in the noise, and tried for a faulty smile. “That’s… heh, that’s crazy. Toppat Clan.”

“You know I’m serious, right?” Henry pressed.

“No, you’re not,” Charles scoffed and sat up straight. “Is-is this to get back at me about the nickname? I didn’t mean to say it in front of Ellie!”

“It’s not about the nickname. Ellie won’t ever let go of that. But that’s beside the point. I’m a Toppat, a criminal, not some average Joe who works with computers.”

Charles blinked, the weird smile dissipating. “You _are_ serious. How? How can you be serious? How-how can this be a thing?! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Charles had gotten a little louder, but it was hard for Henry to find any hints of anger. If it had been anyone but Charles, Henry would have found that to be weird.

“Because, Charles, I was in the Clan before I even met you, and your parents would have probably arrested mine had they known!” Henry puffed. “So, no. I couldn’t tell you then. Ever since then, especially after you became a government pilot, I’ve kept it a secret. I knew that if you knew, then the very best that could happen is that we wouldn’t be able to be friends again. You’re too much of a good person to hate _anyone_. But then if other people knew your friend was a criminal–a Toppat at that–something would happen to you. It would kill me if something happened to you because I couldn’t keep my damn mouth shut. And now I just told you so never mind, I guess!”

Henry groaned and sighed, “I’m sorry, Charles. I wanted to tell you, but there was way too much on the line.”

“Nothing would have happened to me,” Charles tried.

Henry gave him a look. “Is that the truth, Charles? Or is there not something inherently wrong with befriending major criminals?”

“I was your friend way before everything,” Charles denied. “But… a Toppat… you’re serious. You’re actually serious. This is happening. I don’t understand.” He ran his fingers through his shiny auburn hair, dislodging his scarlet headphones. “This is insane. This can’t be happening… you’re… no.”

Henry elected to stay quiet.

Charles turned on him. “You’re one of the criminals we were trying to apprehend when we sent you on the airship?”

Henry nodded. “I brought out some blackmail files and handed them over instead. I wasn’t in any danger, and I know how to navigate one end of the ship to the other. Mainly, I was testing your knowledge of the ship.”

“And… and we’re– _I,_ and the rest of the military–am supposed to find a way to arrest you. All of you.”

“Mhm.”

“Why?”

Henry shrugged. “Because I’m a criminal and you’re not?”

“Why am I your friend, then? Am I your friend?” Charles’ voice got quite low.

“Yes, of course.” Henry set a hand on Charles’ shoulder and grimaced. “Yeah, it sounds weird. But I still like you. I know what and who you are. Expecting you to be any different is like expecting me to not be me. That doesn’t mean I don’t like you. You’re a great guy, Charles.”

Charles shrugged off Henry’s hand and looked away. “Henry, the Toppat Clan is _wrong_. Stealing and bribing and manipulating–they do that. Bad people do that sort of stuff. How could you?” Charles turned on him, then. “How could you do any of that?”

Henry kept his hands to himself. “Because I can, and I do. I was raised to do it. Honestly, by how I acted before I was adopted, by my stupid kleptomania, I was born to do it. I was a born, pure-blooded thief.”

Charles shook his head again, “No, Henry, that’s just–you can’t. You’re a good person. I’ve known you since we were kids and you’re a great guy! But the Toppat Clan–they’re not good people!”

“They are,” Henry couldn’t help but cut in. “My parents, my friends, most of my coworkers–they’re great people to be around! Immoral at times, and some of them are downright bad, but you have those types of people everywhere. Bad people can follow laws, just like good ones can break them.”

“No, that’s not right,” Charles countered. “The Toppat Clan is a criminal organization full of people that have ruined or taken lives. They’re not good people!” He stared at Henry with such conviction he knew that Charles was being honest. He was so convinced of the lies fed to him, he was being honest. He was a good and honest man, a loyal and true friend. Henry didn’t expect any different.

“And the military and police force and government in general– _only_ good people are allowed there?” Henry countered. “Everyone you work with, they’re good people who always abide by the laws and always do what’s best for everyone?”

“Most, yes,” Charles stated. “Most of them are there to make the world a better place. To serve and protect. Criminal organizations like the Toppat Clan, they don’t _do_ that!”

“The Toppat Clan is a great organization with great people in it,” Henry crossed. “And there are bad people in it just like there are bad police officers and soldiers.”

“You can’t say they’ve been only good to you! Didn’t you say your parents were police?”

“My birth parents were,” Henry stated, his voice dry. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“You said the Toppat Clan adopted you, or your fathers did, and they were Toppats. My parents were military. What if my parents were doing their job and protecting civilians and got hurt? Permanently? Or worse? What if your parents had been trying to apprehend a Toppat and got killed over it?”

Henry bristled and stood up, struggling to hide how hard and low that blow was. “Dad Reginald and Dad Right are my fathers, not whoever went off and got themselves killed when I was two! Don’t try to drag them into this! I did my best never to find you, _obviously!_ You and your parents never even knew!”

Charles jumped to his feet, too, defensive but not backing down an inch. “Just because they didn’t know doesn’t make it any better. Your dad is the leader of the Toppat Clan? Why would he even allow you near me?”

“He didn’t want to,” Henry scoffed. “I just proved I could take care of myself and the Clan. I showed I wouldn’t turn against them, and I still won’t. But–urgh! This was a dumb idea.” He growled and hit the palm of his hand against his forehead. “I shouldn’t have told you. This was a mistake.”

Charles crossed his arms. “Well, I do know. What now, Henry?”

The door opened behind them.

Ellie walked outside, eyebrows contracted and eyes flicking between the two, one hand on her side. “What is going _on?_ ”

Charles shot a dark look at Henry. Henry didn’t look away. Charles said, “Henry’s a Toppat and he decided to tell me _now_.”

Ellie stopped halfway through the living room. “What?”

Henry snorted, “I know I shouldn’t have, but I wanted to be honest.”

“You’re a Toppat! How can you be _honest_?” Charles blurted out. He lost his prickly look immediately.

Henry blinked and then glared back. “By not lying and deciding that I didn’t want to hurt you and trying to figure out how best not to. Good _night._ ” With that, he whirled around and stalked out the door, snatching his keys from the table.

“Henry!” Ellie called. Henry ignored her and stalked outside. He managed to get a few feet past the door before Ellie took him by the wrist. “Henry. Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t let you drive.”

Henry snorted and stuffed his keys back in his pocket. “I didn’t even drink that much.”

“You want me to call your cousin or…?”

“…I’ll get him, I’ll get him,” Henry grumbled, taking his phone out with his free hand. Ellie let go.

“ _Henry?_ ” Howie’s voice came from the receiver, blurry.

Henry grimaced and looked up into the night sky. “Hey, Howie. Are you awake?”

“ _No. Why?_ ”

“I need some help getting back home.”

“ _You’re with yer friends. Jus’ ask one of them._ ”

Henry glanced at Ellie. “Can you drive?”

“I’m not going to,” she stated simply.

“She’s not going to.”

“ _Jesus. Where’re ya?_ ”

“By the Arizona border, in Nevada. I’ll text you the address,” said Henry.

“ _You owe me one, ya’hear?_ ”

“Loud and clear, Cowboy.”

“ _Jus’ give me a moment to grab my keys and stuff._ ” Howie’s voice turned into a grumble and he could hear shuffling in the background.

“Alright. Bye.”

 _Click_.

Ellie asked, “Henry, what happened?”

“I told Charles I was a Toppat and he didn’t thank me for it,” Henry grumbled, finding the coordinates to their location, and texting them to Howie. “I knew he wouldn’t.”

“And for how long?”

“Since about two months before I met you at school.” He glanced back at her. “Why aren’t you snapping at me? Did you know?”

Ellie shook her head. “No. Henry, I can’t predict you. Honestly, I didn’t see this coming. But if this is your life, if this was your life before meeting us, what is getting mad going to do?”

Henry looked away.

“Henry, we’re both your friends. Stay safe, okay?” With that, she went back to the hotel room where Charles still stayed.

Henry let out a long sigh and walked out to where the road met desert. He sat and looked up at the sky, marred by far off light pollution, but otherwise unscathed by clouds or planes. Stars glimmered high above. Stars–billions of them, most hidden by distance, atmosphere, and minor light pollution. Soon, Henry would get to the see stars without all of that. He’d be able to look out of his window in the middle of the day and see a sight no person on Earth would ever clearly see with their feet on the ground. What if the government found out about their plan? What if they tried to stop them? What if, amongst those soldiers, Charles was there? Henry couldn’t let anything go between him and the Clan. Charles was his best friend, but the Clan was his family.

Henry groaned and buried his face in his hands. Today had been going so well, too.

Henry lifted his head upon hearing footsteps. Howie, hands in his worn jeans pockets, hummed. “Hey.”

Henry got up and walked with him back toward the pod. “Hey.”

“What happened?”

Henry bowed his head. “I screwed up.”

“What’d ya do?”

Henry opened the pod door for them, though Howie typed in the command for the ship. “Charles confessed to me and I told him I was a Toppat.”

Howie sat down across from him, though the space between was so small it hardly felt like it. “Ya did what now?”

“I told him I was a Toppat. He didn’t like it.”

“Why’d ya do that?”

Henry set a hand to the back of his neck. “It just felt fake. I’ve always kept this from him, but it’s just… he wanted to take things further and I didn’t, not until he knew what he was going to be setting himself up for. He’s an amazing guy. I guess it’s better he finds out from me now and not someone else later, right?”

“Maybe.”

“Was it the right thing to do?” Henry blurted out.

“Ah dunno, Henry. Not my call ta make.”

“Would you have?”

“Ah don’t got any friends outside a’ the Toppat Clan close enough that need ta know who don’t already,” Howie said.

Henry sighed and looked out the window. Well, he had Howie and Katie. He’d have them forever, probably. Just as long as nothing else happens, he’ll be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feat. My sister's favorite poem
> 
> Time to go clean, I guess? Maaaaaaybe this wasn't the right way or time? Or maybe it was. Charles still liked Henry in the PBT path (as shown by TR/PP ending) but we never got confirmation about how he felt about the RPE ending. He probably wouldn't be overly fond of Henry in that route, honestly.
> 
> Also, you know a true friend when they wake up at 3:00 AM to save you from driving even if you're not intoxicated, you silly Billy.


	6. Is there LOVE in your Heart? (1/3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something was wrong with Ellie, and Henry couldn't just leave her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired Endings: RBH, R

# Chapter 1

_Scattering petals down the road without an end…_

Henry had never heard that tone of seriousness in Ellie’s voice. Howie could wait.

Henry thought for a moment but nodded. “Sure. We could go to my room?”

“That would be best, yes,” Ellie said. Henry, confused and now rather concerned, walked with her to the Living Quarters, and eventually his room. On the way there, he sent a quick text to Howie explaining the situation. It only took a few seconds for the understanding, if slightly bitter, text to come in return to acknowledge the sudden change in plans.

Ellie immediately sat down on his bed, eyes on her lap. Henry was beside her, almost instantly. “Henry, there’s… there’s something I need to tell you. And I know you’re going to be mad at me. Like, really, _really_ mad at me. But I need you to hear me out.”

Henry stiffened. “Uh, I don’t like where this is going.”

“I know. But promise me that you’ll at least hear me out?” Her statement turned up a little in the end like a question.

Henry forced himself to relax. “Yeah, Ellie. Yes. I promise I will listen to the whole story.”

Ellie nodded and sat up straight. “Good. Because I didn’t join the Toppats so I could be a badass criminal, or because I was already close to obtaining a record. I joined to sabotage and then take down the Toppats.”

…

_What._

Ellie went on quickly, “But it wasn’t on my personal agenda. You know how Charles is an ace pilot? He’s really good at his job.”

“Yes.”

“Well, one day I was just hanging out with him at the base. Captain Galeforce comes up to us, starts talking about this criminal organization that’s been wreaking havoc. He said that they’ve been doing a lot of wrong, but there’s nothing traceable, no proof, no nothing that would constitute an invasion or even a full blown, funded investigation. So, Captain Galeforce was given a small team on this ‘pet project.’ But rather than send a military spy, he thought of sending someone less… close to the system. When he found out Charles had some trouble-making friends, he decided to call us up. He said that he had trouble getting to you.”

Henry snorted. Right, like Henry could even be tracked down like that.

“But he managed to find me,” Ellie went on. “And he asked me to do this. He told me Charles and I could become partners. I didn’t need to go through any special screening, because they already did that when looking for me. And when he told me about this criminal organization, the Toppat Clan, I knew it was bad. They had to be evil, it was a criminal organization. They flew over borders and took what they wanted, murdering along the way, if they felt they needed to. So, I thought that I would rather go on government missions with Charles after becoming an amazing spy then… waiting to screw up and get thrown into prison. Galeforce didn’t tell me you were a Toppat! No one did! I don’t even think Charles knows!”

“Then why?” Henry shot back. The shock was beginning to wear off, and now nothing could cover the fury he felt, the betrayal-fueled anger that made his blood boil, the insult to his family at the casual injection of her assumption of the Toppat Clan’s absolute evil. “You knew I was a Toppat just before joining! I _trusted_ you, Ellie!”

“I know,” Ellie said, her own voice not raising like Henry’s. “I felt really bad, but you made everyone trust me basically instantly. Months, years maybe, of work I needed to do, gone. You and the Chief and his right hand knew me long before I stepped foot on this airship. All I needed to do was ‘break in’ my position through a few jobs and… then I would be set. The raid is set to happen next week. I was told to tell you to go to the ambush site by then. You could convince your father to do that, if you knew it was important.”

“And then what would happen to me? Do you think I would just _let you_ bring government forces in here to arrest or kill my family? These people raised me, Ellie! They’re my family! Dad Reginald and Dad Right and Carol saved me from an absolute hell of a childhood and offered me freedom and acceptance I got nowhere else!” He could feel the tears start to gleam in his eyes, but he didn’t care. “We’ve been friends s-since I first went to school in Nevada, three months into my time living here. You and Charles were my first real, true, best friends! And now, to save your own skin, you used me and planned to-to do what, exactly? Would you have left me to get killed or arrested, too?”

Ellie shook her head violently. “N-no! No, of course not! You’re my best friend, Henry. I wouldn’t ever–I would talk to Captain Galeforce, see if there was something we could do. You could still come with me!”

Henry growled, “I would rather die myself or live in prison for the rest of my natural life then turn against my own family like that. I know I’m a selfish person, Ellie, but I’m not a disloyal monster.”

Ellie looked him up and down, her own snarl twisting her features. “You steal for a living! You kill people! I’m here to stop this mess, I’m not the monster here! If you want to know what a real monster is, ask your _dads_ who adopted you to use you as a tool to further their criminal gang!”

Henry shot up, bristling and curling his hands into tight fists, mostly to keep himself away from his concealed handgun. “My dads have been the most supportive parents in the world! They love me and I love them. I’m not a tool, I’m a proud member of the Toppat Clan. I will always be a Toppat.”

Ellie jumped to her feet. “Being a criminal isn’t something you gloat about, you idiot! You ruin lives just by ‘doing your job!’ I thought I was going to go down this road, Henry. If it wasn’t for Charles, I _would_ be some no name piece of shit that steals just for the thrill of it. You knew me as a kid, Henry! I would have turned out just like you! I don’t know why you didn’t turn out like me.”

Henry shut his eyes tight. “Ellie, leave. Leave right the fuck now or I will run to the Bridge and announce over the speakers what you just said to me.”

Ellie narrowed her eyes. “Why don’t you do it right now?”

“We’ve been friends for over a decade. I’m not the kind of person who would turn around and stab his best friend in the back at the drop of a hat.” The words came out as a hiss between his teeth as he opened his eyes and glared at her again. “Leave. But if you come back, if I ever see your stupid face around here again and you endanger my people, I will hunt you down and kill you myself.”

The woman snorted. “Good luck with that, klepto.” She got to the door, her hand hovering over the button that would open it, before stopping. She didn’t look back as she spoke and neither did Henry. “I hope you know you’ve lost two friends today. Charles is a good guy. I never told him what you truly were because I loved you both. But now, I’m not afraid to tell him what a scummy bastard you are.”

_Hiss_

Henry stared straight ahead, not really seeing anything. He took deep breaths, but his body still shivered as if the intense heat he felt was too much for his body to handle.

_Ellie. A traitor._

He looked up at his wall. His first ever target peppered with holes from a BB gun hung there. Pictures of the trio from multiple occasions, and keepsakes from their stupid adventures, hung near it. Some covering parts of it. A picture of him and Ellie, taken moments before they ambushed Charles on his thirteenth birthday, partially covered the top left corner of the target, where a lot of the holes dwelled. Henry stalked forward and tore the picture from its place, ripping a jagged v-shaped hole through its top. He found another picture, this one of them on Halloween of 2002, where Henry had been a bank robber, Ellie a badass rogue traveler, and Charles a policeman. He tore away that picture, too. Suddenly, he was ripping memories off the wall. Pictures, objects, anything that had Ellie’s memory. Another wall held more memorabilia. Since Howie’s stuff was gone, there was a third.

Soon, Henry was standing amidst a hurricane of ripped paper and broken baubles. Glass twinkled on the floor in some places, dented objects huddled in others. Henry tore the hat off his head; the navy-blue top hat had been given to him when he was seventeen, when he stopped growing and was finally big enough for it. A golden ‘H,’ kept shiny and clean, decorated its front. Henry could see himself a little. His bright blue eyes met the slightly greener ones in the decoration. He tossed his hat onto the bed and continued his pacing. His throat was sore from screaming he had barely registered as his own, and tears and snot made damp his face.

_Thirteen years of love and life._

It was true, everything he said. They had been friends ever since he went to school, three months into his new and amazing life. Charles and Ellie were more than just friends. They were like family to him. Siblings he never had and knew he would never get. But up until that point in his life, he had never cared about having siblings because he wasn’t alone. He even had Howie, though the man was more a friend or roommate than a brother.

As his rage subsided, it was replaced by something even worse, something worse than the panic attacks he had gotten or the aftermath of fights he sometimes had with his friends and family. God he was _hurt._ The pain in his chest, his head, his damn soul was overwhelming. He couldn’t speak, he had no words to say. He couldn’t move, all the things that reminded him of his life lay broken on the floor. All he could do now was crumple into himself and let his grief take over.

Henry cried.

Henry, exhausted, took a shower. The cold water refused to warm, perhaps because Henry hadn’t told it to do so. He had no time to be miserable, not right now. He could curl up and cry like a little baby later. Right now, the Toppat Clan was in danger. Henry didn’t know how much longer they had, so he must assume the worse.

Henry raced through the hallway, down toward the Warehouse. Someone shouted as he rushed past them, but he didn’t pay attention nor care. A few failed card reads later, he was moving through the Warehouse, his mission loud and clear in his mind.

When he entered the Bridge, Dad Reginald and Dad Right were talking. Thomas and Oldmin examined paperwork. Warm afternoon sunlight glowed through the massive windows.

“Chief,” said Henry, his voice too weary and rough to be of any clear use.

Dad Reginald and Dad Right turned on him instantly.

“Henry!” Dad Reginald got to his feet to meet him. “What happened?”

“There’s an attack planned,” Henry explained. “I don’t know the details, but something is going to happen in a week. We need to be prepared. I don’t know exactly what, but the government means to take us all down.”

Dad Reginald glanced at Dad Right, the man’s expression unreadable, before turning to Henry. “How do you know this?”

“Ellie told me,” Henry said. “She admitted she found out about the attack while eavesdropping on a couple of drunk soldiers. But rather than stand and fight, she’s decided to flee. She abandoned us, Dad Reginald.”

 _Now_ a hard look came across them both. Dad Reginald stated, “You are certain of this, Henry?”

“She told me herself. Asked me to come with.”

“Well, if Ellie Rose spoke the truth and the Toppat Clan is attacked, she will be treated as any other enemy. Henry, if she does become an enemy–”

“I won’t hesitate,” Henry stated firmly, cutting him off. “She was my friend but decided to throw us to the wolves to save herself. If I see her again, I’ll make her pay.”

Dad Reginald nodded. “I won’t stop you, Henry. But remember: revenge is a secondary priority. Be it a choice between helping a member of the Clan or enacting revenge, prioritize the Clan.”

“Yes, Dad Reginald.”

Henry took his message to Sven, who sat at the microphone. After listening to what Henry had to say, he stated over the intercom, “All Clan members, prepare for a future attack. The government is planning a raid, set to next week. Our Clan member, Ellie Rose, has abandoned the Toppats. If she is found on the ship, bring her to the Brig and report to the chief immediately.”

Dad Right came up behind Henry. “Kid, you did the right thing.”

Henry sighed and bowed his head. “I hope so. I can’t believe… we’ve known each other for thirteen years, Dad Right! Thirteen years! Ever since middle school! Even though Charles had parents in the government, and Ellie’s mother was, too, I didn’t care. But _she_ does, it seems. I’m just some thug in her eyes.” He swallowed, the tightness of his throat making it hard to breathe. “…Dad Right, I was planning my next mission with Howie. But that’s not happening. Is there something else I need to do? An–”

_WOOOOOMP!_

The airship shuddered. An alarm blared through the ship. Sven called over the intercom system, “We’re under attack! Prepare for a fight!”

Henry sucked in his breath and then glared at the door. “That liar! Erg, why did I think she was telling the truth? Now is the perfect time to betray us!”

Dad Reginald turned to Henry. “Henry, go to the infirmary!”

“Yes, Dad!” Putting down the irritation he felt at being given such a ludicrously safe job, Henry pushed himself out of the Bridge and darted across the room. He went down a few halls and entered a large, white room. Stretchers littered the area near the entrance with plenty of medical beds in the north. Machinery and cabinets of medicine lined the walls. Chairs clustered together somewhere in the southern corner. A man in a white top hat stood near one of the beds, while two others were beside the stretchers. A handgun was strapped to the waist of the doctor. While both paramedics were armed, their guns were seconded to their readiness near the stretcher.

Henry stood near the door, his back to the wall and a gun now close to his chest.

The paramedics grabbed their walkie talkies as they began to hiss. Instructions were given and the duo ran off, both dragging a stretcher behind themselves. They were back within a few minutes, a new Toppat member for each so that they were being held by two. Grievously injured crewmates lay in the stretcher, and then on the beds. The doctor quickly went to work, barking orders at the two others with experience.

Henry gestured to the door. “I have this. Sammy, Jim, go.”

He got a salute as the two left.

Henry listened to the sounds of the doctor treating wounds and giving orders and the pained moans and wheezes of their patients. Said noises started to taper off after administering pain medicine. The _clink_ of bloody bullets hitting the bottom of a metal can now accompanied them.

The call went out for another and so out one went, and then a second. The doctor quieted as he finished his work alone and covered sanitized wounds with gauze.

Then, Henry’s walkie talkie hissed. He picked up the equipment in his pocket and held. _“Check, check! This is Charles!”_ Charles’ voice barely came through.

 _“Charles, I’m on the ship. The Chief is in the Bridge. How do I get there alone?”_ Ellie’s voice came in.

_“There are a few turns you need to make, but once you get to the Living Quarters it should be a straight shot to the Bridge. With fighting taking place in the Bay, the halls should be empty.”_

Henry listened to their conversation, a sick feeling twisted up in his stomach. How long had they been planning this? Did Ellie already tell Charles, or did Charles not know Henry was amongst the ones he was planning on killing or capturing? That the one they now targeted was Henry’s dad? No, Charles couldn’t know.

_“Charles, I’m at a bri–hey! Right Hand Man!”_

_“Is he a bad guy?”_

_“Very!”_

Henry narrowed his eyes. He heard gunshots, he heard the voices of his former best friend and dad.

 _“Agk!”_ Henry heard Ellie’s pained cry come from the device. _“Dammit, I think–errg!”_

Henry gritted his teeth and shut his eyes. The sound of her pain…

_“Ha! Haha! Got him!”_

Henry’s blood turned to ice.

_“Now that Chief bastard.”_

_“Capture him, Ellie,”_ Charles warned.

_“I know. Now that his right hand husband’s dead, should be easy.”_

The paramedics came back with two more injured. Henry looked up. “I’m going out. Harry, Floyd, you stay here!” Without looking to see if they had listened to him, Henry turned and rushed down the corridors. Of course, getting from the infirmary to the Bridge was famously long. Anyone who intended to hurt the Chief would have a hard time getting to their injured or vice versa. That is why Henry was sent there after all; the safest place in the ship outside of one of the safe rooms.

Henry hit the Warehouse.

 _“I’m almost there, Ch–Henry?!”_ Henry’s walkie talkie activated.

He spun around. Ellie, blood smearing her white shoes and her side where a bullet hit her, stood before him, the door to the Warehouse busted in. Her hat was nowhere to be seen.

 _“Henry!”_ Charles called. _“What are you doing here, man? Glad to see you’re okay!”_

Ellie blinked. “How do you have our signal?”

“Because,” Henry said, his finger on the button. “–I gave you the damn thing, Ellie. Maybe you should have had your Captain friend give you another.”

 _“Uh, Henry? Ellie? What’s going on?”_ asked Charles.

Ellie stated, “Henry’s a traitor, he’s trying to bar me from getting the Chief.”

“Ellie’s the traitor!” Henry spat. “She used me to get to my parents! What happened to Dad Right, Ellie? What did you do?”

Ellie said, “I killed him. He was in my way. You are, too.”

 _“Wait, guys, I don’t understand!”_ Charles’ voice was raised in a panic, now. _“What’s happening?! Are your parents there, Henry? Why would Ellie hurt them? Ellie?”_

“Because Henry’s a Toppat goon!” Ellie spat. “He’s been living with the Toppats for years, helping them and protecting them.”

 _“What?”_ Charles’ voice grew small. _“Henry?”_

“Yes, I am a Toppat. The chief and his right hand are my parents. The Toppat Clan is my home and family. I’m sorry, Charles. You’re my friend, but this traitorous _bitch_ will regret the day she was born.”

“Not if I kill you first!” Ellie exclaimed, her gun in her hand.

 _“Guys, wait! It doesn’t have to come to this! Please, let’s talk this out! Ellie? Henry? Can you hear me? Check, check! Hello? He–”_ Charles’ voice was cut off as Henry smashed the device to the ground.

Ellie’s gun went off.

Suddenly, the two were no longer standing still. They engaged in a dance, dodging and hiding and shooting. Wood splintered and metal dented, and the fire of guns boomed. Henry could faintly hear Charles’ voice coming from Ellie’s walkie talkie, but only if he got close. It seems Ellie heard Charles just as well as Henry as they kept up this dangerous dance.

Henry’s eyes flicked to a giant crate. With a last few shots that forced Ellie behind the crane, Henry darted to the crate and forced himself inside, slipping into a hard, small place. The wood of the crate splintered upon being shot. The machine he was within snarled. He heard wood splinter and snap, and gunshots hit metal that refused to yield. Henry popped his head out enough to see where he was going. Ellie stared at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. Although she fired off a few more shots, Henry’s tank roared forward. Ellie dodged the incoming machine and ran toward the Bridge.

_BOOM_

The tank fired. The crane groaned as it was hit, and its arm fell.

Wind forced itself inside.

Henry popped his head out of the hatch. The crane’s arm snapped and tore a hole through the side of the airship. Its ladder crushed the door to the Bridge, effectively blocking it from both sides.

Knowing the tank would do him no more good, Henry hopped out of the tank and vaulted over some of the wreckage. He had just gotten to the gaping wound in the side of his flying home when something rammed into him.

He fell back, losing his gun in the process. He felt the chilly wind rush past him, filling his ears and tugging his clothes. He violently clawed at anything near, finally finding a grip in the metal. Despite the sharp ends of the metal digging into his fingers, he held on. His hat fell off, tumbling into the harsh wind. Henry looked up, finding Ellie kneeling above him, leaning on the metal as she scrambled to regain her balance. Behind him, a jungle green helicopter split off from where others swarmed around the lower end.

Ellie’s bright green eyes met Henry’s icy blue ones. For a moment, neither spoke. Both breathed heavily, both weak from the chase and the fight, both bruised and bloody.

“Guys!” Charles’ voice boomed from a speaker. “I-I see you! Hang on, Henry! I can let down a ladder or something? Ellie, Henry, we can talk about this. Come on, guys! I-I know it’s bad, okay? But we can talk this through. Right?”

For a moment, neither Ellie nor Henry talked. Then…

“Henry,” rasped Ellie. “–I know that you’re a Toppat. I thought I could do it. I thought I could kill you, but I can’t.”

Henry stared right back at her. His anger started to melt under the whipping winds and roaring helicopter and the sharp pain in his fingers. “I…”

Ellie gritted her teeth and held out her hand. “Henry, I’m sorry.”

Henry gulped and nodded. He let go with one hand and took hers. “Ellie, I’m not.”

Henry let go of the ship.

Ellie screamed as Henry’s weight and the tug of the wind pulled her out. Although she tried to let go, Henry’s nails dug into the skin of her hand and he grabbed onto her wrist with the other, his blood smearing over her skin and merging with the blood dribbling from an abrasion on her arm.

Henry heard a sickening _pop_ and he stopped falling! Ellie grunted in pain, but she held onto whatever machine now coiled around her other arm. She glared down at Henry with watery eyes, the tears that warmed her cheeks flying off in the turbulent wind.

Henry gasped as a sharp pain cut through his back. Behind them, another helicopter buzzed at their height, someone manning a sniper rifle.

Henry’s mutilated fingers slipped.

Down, down, down he fell. Below him, he could see the choppy waves of a near frozen ocean. The airship would head for a water landing if things went sour. Well, sourer than they were. The massive hole in the Warehouse wouldn’t help, and they would drown. Henry watched as a helicopter near the end of the airship exploded. Another, and then a third and fourth were gunned down either by missiles or guns that took out the helicopters or the pilots themselves.

_BWOOOOOOSSSSSHHHH!  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. Things are going to become a tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiny bit sour from here on out. I'll include my theories about the canon "Revenged" route at the end of this ending.
> 
> _  
> ~~Okay, okay, no more Revenged stuff--~~  
>  _


	7. It Wasn't Me, I Was In Electric (2/7)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired Endings: TCW, FM

# Chapter Two

_Heart of Gold_

Henry had no natural body heat in his arm, so often he found the metal cool to the touch. Wearing gloves helped, both for the temperature and to mask his prosthetic limb as he wore a long-sleeved shirt, too. But right now, his arm wasn’t covered, nor was his hand. It was no longer cool, either, soaking up the heat between the blanket and Dave’s side. Henry had, at first, felt a little bad and very hesitant about touching the man, but Dave had been the one to pull off Henry’s glove and hold his hand in both of his.

Not quite asleep but not quite awake, that’s what Henry was. It was a little annoying, honestly. He _wanted_ to sleep, to stay in this bed with this man in this moment forever. Dave was always so… peaceful when he slept. Henry had been a little surprised. Knowing the man’s present, would he not have had more nightmares?

Well, whatever. The man was not scared, he was happy. After all he had been through, he deserved that much. Henry ran his fingers through the sleeping man’s hair. It had grown out through the months and now, rather than being just past ear length, his chocolate brown hair reached past his jaw and nearly brushed his shoulders. Henry would have offered to help if he was any good with hair. But he wouldn’t trust himself with a pair of scissors if suddenly everyone with an ounce of hair care knowledge vanished from the face of the earth. A small chuckle bubbled up inside of him. That was a lie. Henry would learn if Dave were to ask. Maybe Dave was just shy. He was a rather anxious, shy man always slow to ask for help.

Henry had nearly put himself to sleep with his own thoughts when a quiet knock came to his door. He stiffened, fear bolting through him so hard and sudden he temporarily forgot how to breathe. Dave stirred, bothered out of sleep by the noise and action. Before Henry could even think of getting up, the door opened. Ellie, dressed in her night clothes and missing her hat, her hair ruffled and eyes dark in lost sleep, strolled inside. Dim light from the hall cast a temporary glow over her before the door shut, leaving the only source of light being the bathroom opened just a crack.

Ellie stopped upon seeing him. For a second, neither person moved. Henry almost felt like crying. _Ellie. Of all the people–thank God._ She blinked and signed, “ _Bad time?_ ”

Henry, careful not to disturb Dave, who’d fallen back asleep, poked his hand out from under the blanket. “ _A little._ ” Unsurprisingly, with one arm being pinned by the former security guard, it was hard to sign. Thankfully, half the “sentence” was finger spelling, and the other half was like a half clap where his hands didn’t touch but made the motion.

“ _Alright. I’ll come back later._ ” Ellie’s words were slow, deliberate. She had to retry the word “back” a few times. She started to leave, but unfortunately stopped as her hand almost reached the door. She narrowed her eyes at the black hat on the floor. In the darkness, it was difficult to see, and could be mistaken for a random baseball cap. That was, without the once-neat letters proudly proclaiming “SECURITY” on its front. She looked up at Henry, who’d gained a significant warmth in his face. She raised her eyebrows, her night-dreary look slowly turning into a Cheshire Cat grin.

Henry glared at her, his blush mostly hidden by the darkness just getting worse. “ _Out._ ”

“ _You do have a thing for uniforms._ ”

“ _Now._ ”

“ _Make me._ ”

Henry looked away. God dammit. Now he almost wished it had been Howie. At least he could _try_ to prove his innocence–Dave hadn’t wanted to go further, so they didn’t–but even if he couldn’t, Howie would probably stay quiet. He was a good friend. Ellie wouldn’t rat him out, but she certainly wouldn’t be quiet.

Henry forced himself to stay still upon feeling a finger tap his head. He looked up at Ellie, whose wide grin had turned soft. “ _I like to tease, but if he makes you happy, I’ll be quiet._ ” She hesitated. “ _Or is this just a_ ”

“No,” Henry whispered, ignoring her next words.

She put a fist to her mouth to keep from making a noise and nodded. “ _Alright, see you in the morning._ ”

The door shut behind her.

Henry sighed and relaxed again, pulling the blanket up a little farther. Dave mumbled, “What…?”

“It’s okay,” Henry whispered back, running his hand over Dave’s head. “Go back to sleep.”

“Okay. Love you…”

“Love you, too.”

* * * * *

Okay, so, Henry was going to talk to Dad Reginald and offer to guide Dave off the ship. Drop him off somewhere remote, but with access to necessities. They wouldn’t need to kill him, and they had no reason to keep him around or hurt him. Henry had absolutely no personal agenda whatsoever. He didn’t even know the guy, much less like him. Henry never even _talked_ to Dave, much less accidentally maybe fallen in love with him. Now _that_ was ridiculous. Henry had absolutely nothing to worry about at all. Nothing, there was _no reason_ for Henry to be nervous. This was just another decision that had to be made for the Clan and Henry was ready and willing to give his input.

Dad Reginald was going to see right through him.

Nope. No, no, no. No dwelling on thoughts like those. That would do no one any good. Howie had already given him a small pep talk and Ellie gave her best wishes. So, now it was Henry’s turn. To do this. To talk to Dad Reginald. Right.

Henry took a deep, steadying breath and knocked on the door to Dad Reginald’s office. After receiving a welcoming greeting, Henry opened the door and walked inside. Dad Reginald and Dad Right looked over paperwork together. When they spotted Henry, the paperwork was tabbed by a sliver of paper and set down. “Henry,” stated Dad Reginald. “Is something the matter?”

 _Game face, Henry._ “Yes. Well, I was thinking about the prisoner situation. I know that you’re really swamped with work already. So, I wanted to help take that off you.”

Dad Reginald gave him a weird look. “You’ve gained some interest in the prisoner.”

Henry shrugged. “I-I’ve been looking around the airship. With the month off I had waiting to heal up, I decided to look for things I could do. Like suggesting I stay down on the ground and help with that team in case of emergency during the launch. I just want to help out and thought that dealing with the Brig was a menial enough task that still needed to be passed through authority.”

The chief hummed and nodded. “That is true. What are you suggesting, Henry?”

“I think that while we’re on route to the jungle, I snatch an escape pod and guide the prisoner somewhere out in the southwest US, like New Mexico or something. That’s where the prisoner came from, right?”

“And _why_ would we allow a prisoner to just _walk free?_ ”

Henry put down a grimace. “We have no more use for him, like you said. He hasn’t been taught anything potentially dangerous to the Clan, he’s been so compliant and quiet I hardly remember he’s alive sometimes and no one else talks about him–not even Katie! If ever someone was to complain or hiss about a prisoner, it would be her. So, I’m not saying to just toss him out, but he’s not worth the headache of a ransom and it’s far more civilized to set him back down then to just toss him off the ship, you know?”

Dad Reginald clasped his hands together and set his elbows on the table on either side of his current paperwork. For a very long moment, he thought to himself and then glanced at Dad Right. The stoic man gave no indication of thinking one thing or the other. Dad Reginald turned back to Henry. “Well. I’m very happy to hear you’re taking the initiative. We can discuss this further… later.”

“Okay, Dad. Thanks. Good morning Dad Reginald, Dad Right! Have a nice day!”

Soooooo that wasn’t the absolute _worst_ outcome possible. In fact, that was… good? Right? Right. Yeah. So, he had a few more things to do. They wouldn’t miss him too terribly at lunch, would they? Yeah, he could grab his own lunch early and he and Dave could spend a half hour together before Henry had to go back to work!

Henry, a box with a couple of burgers and fries in his arm, made his way to the Brig. The door opened and he walked up to Dave’s cell. The man was on his bed, elbows on his knees and head bowed. “Hey, Dave! I was running errands. But I brought back some lunch.”

“Huh?” The man jumped so hard it had to have hurt and looked up. “O-oh! Thanks.”

Henry’s eyebrows furrowed. Dave was a little jumpy and a bit anxious, but now… lunch seemed to surprise him? “Dave, what happened? I didn’t scare you, did I?”

“N-no, I was just surprised,” the man lied, rather poorly at that.

Henry frowned and opened the door. “Nuh-uh, that’s not working with me.”

Dave flinched as the door opened, but, after another glance at Henry, he relaxed a little.

Henry sat down beside him, setting the bag of lunch between their feet. “What happened, Dave? You look terrified.”

The man did not answer.

Henry thought for a moment. “You…” Henry’s eyes went wide and turned on Dave. “Someone did something to you, didn’t they? Who was it?”

“Henry…”

“I told you I would not let you get hurt, Dave, I meant it. Was it Wallace? I told him to stay off you!” Upon seeing how much more tense Henry made the man, Dave going so far as to shrink away from him, Henry forced himself to calm. “I’m sorry. Dave, I can’t let this go. Who hurt you?”

“…Wallace. The one with the big scar.”

Henry glared at the half-open door. “I’ll have a talk with that man. But–” Henry took a deep breath and turned back to Dave, a slight smile on his features. “–let’s try to talk about something better, huh? Look, I’m sorry you got hurt, I should have seen it coming. I promise, Dave, I will protect you.”

“…thanks, Henry. That, that means a lot.”

“Wallace!” Henry yelled, stalking into the Bay where he knew Wallace had a shift. “Motherfucker, I know you’re here!”

Voices quieted as the half dozen others ceased their conversations and turned on him.

Wallace, who was standing near one of the boxes with a clipboard in hand, snickered. “What’s it this time, kiddo?” His own voice was raised just enough for everyone else to hear him. Though, he could be _whispering_ and still be clearly heard.

Henry stopped a few feet short of the man. “I told you once to stay away from the Brig, and I’m _not_ telling you again.”

The man barked out a laugh. “Yeah and? I got to feed the stupid dog we’ve got tied up in there.”

“No, whoever told you that was obviously out of their mind, because I took that job from you, you weasel!”

“Hey, I can’t go against the Chief’s orders,” he defended himself, though he still gave Henry a daring smirk.

“Don’t make shit up. I talked to Dad Reginald myself,” Henry puffed. “Even if he did for some reason lie to me and let your dumb ass take over _my_ job, you still shouldn’t be attacking the prisoner!”

“Alright,” Wallace conceded. “I lied. What are you going to do about it? He’s our prisoner, not our friend. Pfft. Not _our_ friend, but obviously you can’t see that being so doe-eyed over him.”

“I can _see_ what your doing is wrong!” Henry snapped. “Now you stay away from the Brig or I’ll have you thrown in it!”

“You can’t do that.”

“Or I can open that door and toss your ass off the airship _right now._ ”

“I dare you to _try._ Actually, this whole threatening shit? Not working on me. If you really want me to leave your dearest star-crossed lover alone, why don’t you make me?”

Henry gave him a flat look. “You’re baiting me into a fight, and it’s not working. I know your brutish mind can’t comprehend speech, but at least _try_ would you?”

Wallace’s smirk faltered and devolved into an ugly grimace. “Oh, no, kid. You’re asking for a fight, and you’re going to get it. You think that since you were raised by the chief that you’re some sort of special. That you deserve special treatment or have more power than you actually earned. Well, hate to break it to you, kid, but you _don’t_. I’ve been working here longer than you’ve even _been_ here. If you think you know what’s what better than I do, prove it.”

Henry shook his head with a snort. “You’re _really_ dense, did you know that? Now, I’m going to say this nice and slow so that you can understand me. Stay. Away. From. The. Brig. That’s my job. I’m not trying to take yours, and I’m not too little to defend myself.”

Wallace rolled his eyes. “Alright, alright. Go tromp back to wherever you were and be distracted by a string of faux crystals. I’m not scared of you or the little bitch we tied up a few months b–”

Wallace cut himself off with a wheeze and stumbled back, a hand to his stomach. Henry, his entire perception of rationality burned, grabbed Wallace by the shoulder for another hit. Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, Henry forgot how much younger and ill experienced he was. Wallace returned the hit with a strike to Henry’s eye.

Within moments their fight had degraded into what might be called a wrestling match, though it was mostly Wallace struggling to get a firm grip on Henry, who kicked his feet out from under him. The man brought Henry down with them and the two went for a roll, grappling and struggling to get on top. Henry refused to put much strength behind his left arm. He could knock the guy’s lights out with a hit from _that_ , but that wouldn’t prove anything.

Henry felt someone grab onto his shoulders. Still holding onto Wallace’s throat with one hand, he struck back with his elbow. He heard a hard grunt come in response, but the person’s grip tightened, and he was torn off Wallace and dragged back to his feet. Henry, unbalanced, could not get up properly enough to face the new aggressor, who wrapped an arm around his chest just below his armpits and held onto one of his wrists. “Let me go!” Henry snapped, glaring at Wallace through only one eye. Wallace, blood dribbling incessantly down his face from his nose, was also being restrained by Benjamin.

“Jesus, stop being dramatic,” Tony puffed.

Benjamin called, “Matt, grab a doctor, would ya?”

“Uh, sure.”

Henry, puffing, stopped his futile struggling and settled on glowering at Wallace, finding some petty satisfaction at looking at the wounds Henry had caused. He wasn’t so small now, eh?

Geoffrey spoke into a walkie talkie, “Yeah, it’s Henry and Wallace. They’re going at it.”

Wallace grumbled something.

“What’s that?” Henry called. “Couldn’t hear you with that bloody nose!”

Geoffrey turned on Henry. “Now that’s enough of that!”

Henry grimaced but didn’t glare at Geoffrey nor retort.

A Toppat with medical knowledge was there rather quickly. Benjamin released Wallace in the other man’s care.

Then into the Bay came Dad Reginald and Dad Right. Henry didn’t look at them as they approached but dare not back down. He was right, Wallace was wrong, and that was that. He didn’t need _anyone_ trying to convince him otherwise. Especially since Dad Reginald was going to take Wallace’s side since Henry threw the first punch… as well as started the argument in the first place.

“Tony, let go of him,” Dad Reginald ordered. Two-Ton Tony complied, releasing Henry and stepping back.

Henry, who’d gotten used to the awkward position, fell back into an even more awkward sitting position before scrambling to get to his feet. As the adrenaline from the fight wore off, the pain in his arm and ribs and eye started to surface. The doctor checking over Wallace picked up an ice pack and gestured toward Henry. Henry took it and set it on his eye, wincing at the cold.

“Now, Henry, come with me. Right Hand Man, bring Wallace back when you’re ready,” Dad Reginald stated and walked back up from whence he came. Dad Reginald had his hands behind his back and his head and shoulders squared. _Ugh, Henry was in for it, now._

Henry followed, stifling any visual signs of discomfort. “Wall–”

“Don’t you dare speak to me,” Dad Reginald stated, his voice icy calm. “I will tell you when you can talk. Understand?”

Henry grunted.

Once they passed through the door out of the Bay, Dad Reginald stopped and turned to Henry. Quite suddenly, Henry felt his bravado start to wither. “Henry Stickmin, this is the first physical altercation you’ve had, but that doesn’t make it any better. I’ve told you time and again that fighting is for brutish men or women who can’t properly use their words. I was under the assumption that _you_ could.”

There was a slight pause, but there was not one ounce of will in Henry’s body to speak.

Dad Reginald went on, “Tell me, now: what started this?”

“Wallace was attacking Dave,” Henry stated shortly. “I told him that I’d taken Brig duty off his hands, you were there when we agreed on that. But he decided to go back anyway and hurt him. He walked into Dave’s cell and attacked him. That’s after months of nagging at him with words, which I guess he got tired of. So, I confronted him about it, and of course he not only admits it, but he sounded _proud_ of it. Like bullying someone who couldn’t fight back was an achievement.” Henry stood up straight and squared his shoulders. “So, I showed him what a fight with someone who _could_ defend himself was like.”

Dad Reginald let out a low growl of frustration. “And you believe that prisoner at face value?”

“Yes,” Henry stated. “But more than that, Dave’s been acting differently lately. I also got Wallace to admit it. He bragged about it to tease me.”

“Differently?” Dad Reginald echoed. “You’re talking like this prisoner was an old friend.”

“He’s not an ‘old friend,’ though technically I met him before he got locked up here,” Henry admitted. “But I’ve also gotten to know him over the months he’s been here. He’s understandably nervous, but also much more reserved now than he was before. Shier and more skittish today than he was last week. Wallace, meanwhile, acts like nothing’s wrong. Like-like attacking a defenseless man without a mean bone in his body was something to boast about! He’s trying to make himself feel better, so of course I’ll knock him down a peg. Even if it means breaking his nose.” Henry stretched his hand, forcing down a reaction to the soreness in his knuckles.

Dad Reginald stated, “I thought you learned this lesson as a _child_. They’re prisoners, not friends. Wallace is a Toppat, he’s someone you may end up defending with your life if the time comes to it. Dave is nothing but a meddlesome nightguard who went where he wasn’t supposed to go. Your childish fighting interrupted work in the Bay and caused injury. I did raise you, which I should say I thought I did better than this. But more than that, I am your chief. Now, the punishment for this foolish behavior is menial labor. Not only will you _not_ be allowed into meetings discussing further heists, for the time being, but you’ll be working with the kitchen and janitorial staff. And I am not to see you anywhere near Wallace. Am I understood?”

“Yes. Chief.” He couldn’t help a snort at the word, though he couldn’t really put that much defiance into it.

The door opened behind them.

Henry turned around. Dad Right walked in, Wallace–bandaged and wearing a nose cast–limping in behind him. It wasn’t a heavy limp, by any means, but Henry was pleased he could still see the slight favor Wallace put on his left foot. Dad Reginald stated, “Their stories match, I hope?”

“I doubt it,” Dad Right grunted.

Dad Reginald’s eyes narrowed. “Well, I’m sure if all else fails, the _five witnesses_ will clear up any confusion. Henry, leave. Wallace, I would have a word with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooooh I changed this scene so many times. I wrote the "Wallace attacks Dave/Dave tells Henry/Henry fights Wallace/(continued)" scene back near the beginning. When I mean beginning, I mean there was one route (No CA/PD/RIO) and I was only, like, a third of the way into the book. I've been planning this ship for _so long._ But, the original scene... wasn't nearly as happy. In fact, it was the catalyst for a "broken ending," a GSPI/TT inspired one I decided I just couldn't find it in me to publish.


	8. Ohana Means Family (2/7)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired endings: TR, CG

# Chapter Two

_The Little Things Make Big Differences_

“Hey, so, you cleaned up in here.”

Henry, leaning back in his computer chair almost enough to tip it over, looked at Dave through the half-open bathroom door. “Mhm. Decided my room was getting messy. I swear Dad Reginald must give Howie or Katie a raise every time they tell him my room’s a mess. Thanks for pointing out the medicine. I’d totally forgotten that existed and gave it back to the doctor.”

“Would he be giving it to someone else? It’s expired!”

“Of course not,” Henry puffed. “For the love of God don’t let him hear you say that. Few things get under that man’s skin more than bad medical practices or his old college pal. He’s grumpy to begin with.”

Dave shut the medicine cabinet and walked back into his bedroom. “Heh. They’re not pals anymore.”

“Not in the least.” Henry cleared his throat and went on in an impersonation of the man that would give the doctor clearance to euthanize Henry, “That old hermit may be brilliant, but I swear the _only_ reason she was valedictorian instead of me is because she sucked someone off. Then I get my own job away from _Her Grace_ and they _still_ conspire to toss me out and replace me with _her!_ Good luck with that. That hermit who could barely speak English is a solo practitioner! There’s a reason that rule-following brown-noser is ‘technically affiliated with’ the government and _I’m_ a Toppat.”

Dave snickered. “Did she really?”

“I doubt it. I think he’s just sour he lost at something, like, a hundred years ago.”

“He’s not a great sport, then.”

Henry shrugged. “Yeah, but mostly when it comes to his job. He can’t _stand_ someone referring to her as being better than him. Now, commenting about one of the other medical professionals on board? He’s more likely to compliment them, too. But not to their faces because of something about ego or whatever.”

“Do you think they were together or something? She broke up with him, and that’s why he doesn’t like her so much,” Dave offered.

Henry snickered. “Man, that would be hilarious. A few people I know started that kind of gossip and got shut down. People who’ve known him longer know that they were college partners, pals even, but nothing more than that. But I wouldn’t put it past him to be that petty.” Henry fell forward so that all four feet of his chair hit the ground. “Anyway, Charles, Ellie, and I were talking about some of our biggest exploits. I was wondering, since you used to be a cop. How about your first high-speed chase?”

“Well, I was mostly a prison guard, so I didn’t go on many of those,” Dave admitted. “But there was one time where they needed back up at a restaurant. Since I was Rupert’s partner, I went with him. The suspects got in a car and ran away when they figured out we were coming. Since Rupert was driving, I sat shot gun and helped gun down one of the cars before they could make it too far. I almost got my ear blown off when one of them shot back at me!”

* * * * *

Henry fished out the last necklace he could find in the display case and snuck back behind a corner and watched the cameras. The red light that had been blinking was still off. Tony shut the register and, after a quick look around, joined Henry, where he was waved off and Henry gestured down the hall. Camera lights were still off. Henry checked down the now empty halls and then went back to watching as Floyd and Harry joined them, a quiet snicker passing between the two. The noise died upon seeing Henry’s narrowed eyes and they fled. The cameras were still off–

The red light began to blink again.

Henry ducked out.

His heart nearly jumped out of his chest as an alarm _screamed_ above them. Swearing to himself, Henry darted down the hall after Tony, Harry, Floyd, and now Magnus, who had been in the security office. Tony hissed at a very guilty Magnus like an angry goose, stopping only when Henry pushed himself between them and pointed down the hall.

Outside was their goal where Douglas waited in their car not-so-patiently, Henry would assume, especially now that an alarm had gone off in the store. What had caused the alarm to go off, anyway? Magnus was in the security room! Wh–

Henry spun around as he heard a heavy _thud_ and a yell. Magnus struggled fiercely with a security guard, who now hissed into a walkie talkie with his free hand, keeping his shoulder on Magnus’ chest to keep him down. Henry dragged him off, ripping away any form of self defense that could have come from a Taser. Magnus got to his feet and bolted. Down the hall, another scuffle took place. Henry let go of the guard after one last kick to the stomach and ran off. The squabble was over by the time Henry made it to them, and Tony was again scolding Magnus. They were moving, so Henry didn’t bother to shut him up.

The fire escape let off another alarm that drilled itself into Henry’s head. He was going to be deaf by the end of all this, wasn’t he? What the hell did Magnus do, he was in security!

The truck engine growled behind them, hidden in the alleyway with its lights off. Henry found himself jumping into the back with Tony, plucking the rifle off the truck bed as he did so. Douglas ripped out of the alley on the fastest route _out of there_. It would’ve been nice to just hide under the tarp in the bed of the truck to evade any pesky laws about not being allowed to ride in the back rather than fleeing a crime scene in progress. Oh well, life happens.

Though the alarms from the jewelry store had started to taper off the farther they went, wails from blue and white cars now finding themselves in the scene did nothing of the sort. They weren’t close enough, yet, to do any harm. But they couldn’t afford to be followed too far. A tire blew out in one of the closer police cruisers, the rubber no match for a good dozen drops of metal traveling faster than the speed of sound.

The car wobbled and moved off as the driver complied to the car’s injury. Tony took a more direct method. The car drifted as its driver’s head hit the now bloody steering wheel, successfully panicking his partner who dove to take control and raise an alert on his walkie talkie at the same time. Henry didn’t look at Tony, rather concentrating on the next car to weave its way forward. The passenger of this one rolled down the window and leaned out, a pistol pointed straight at them. Henry, perhaps?

Henry took aim at the officer.

_“The suspects got in a car and ran away when they figured out we were coming. Since Rupert was driving, I sat shot gun and helped gun down one of the cars before they could make it too far. I almost got my ear blown off when one of them shot back at me!”_

He winced upon feeling a bullet whizz past his ear. Upon reflex he shot. The glass on the passenger side cracked as the projectile broke through it, tearing in the seat behind him, missing both officers by a longshot. There was another shot, this time from beside Henry, and the passenger released his weapon. Off balance, he fell out and tumbled onto the road. The second police cruiser jerked out of the way. Henry doubted that mattered.

“Henry!” Tony snarled. “Wake up!”

Henry threw a glare at him and went back to the police cruisers wailing behind them. The other passenger in the second police cruiser didn’t peak out like the first one did, at least not completely. He ducked back in after firing off a shot. He was gunned down as well, and the blue and white cars were forced to retreat lest they get cut open as well.

The truck bed jerked and bucked under them as they went off-road.

Once the truck slowed to a stop, Tony barked, “What was that, Henry?”

Henry, who’d dropped his weapon on top of the others, snapped a glare back at him. “What?”

“Did you fall asleep or something? That guy was a sitting duck for a solid thirty seconds!”

“And?” Henry pushed himself up and hopped out of the truck. “It worked out, didn’t it?”

“Because of me,” Tony growled. “Honestly, you and Magnus? If you’d just done your jobs right, we’d have pulled this off without a hitch!”

Magnus, his eyes narrowed in a weak glare, reciprocated, “The fucker woke up. He wasn’t _supposed_ to do that!”

“Did you put a bullet in his head?”

“No.”

“Well, there’s your problem. Living people tend to wake up.”

Magnus scoffed, “I didn’t need to kill him!”

Henry got between them again, glowering at Tony. “I don’t care what it was like back at your old place, but we don’t just kill everyone we meet here. We’re only here for the jewelry, not half a dozen lives.”

“You say that while a cop was trying to blow your head off?”

“Well, he didn’t!”

“And you just tossed away that security guard.” Tony scoffed. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were soft on them.”

Henry raised an eyebrow. “And where would _that_ idea come from?”

“You skipped work to play at a military base,” Tony pointed out. “You were supposed to be with me in a museum heist.”

“I was captured by the _Wall!_ And then I escaped it.”

“Using the government.”

“Using my _friend_.”

“Same thing.”

Floyd chipped in, “Uh, guys? We should go before they catch up to us.”

Henry and Tony turned to him. Henry nodded. “Yeah, yeah. Come on. Let’s get out of here. We can argue back on the ship.”

Henry lay on his bed, tossing a small ball up and then catching it. Heists were fun. The thrill of sneaking someplace he shouldn’t, cleaning out a room, and then escaping into the night was fun. Looking at everything he’d gathered was satisfying, even if only a margin of it was actual profit. Being on a team was nice, too. Magnus took over the security room to make sure they weren’t spotted so Henry didn’t have to constantly look over his back. Douglas drove the truck while Tony helped Henry in the truck bed so he wouldn’t have to worry about getting gunned down at the last second.

So, what was different about this run?

Henry had no feeling of satisfaction, no adrenaline to run off or a high to exploit. He was just… tired, after running and carrying and that short spat with the security guard. Usually, he wouldn’t be feeling that until way later. Not to mention the fight with Tony. Their group had been larger than necessary for a jewelry store robbery in the middle of the night, _sure_ , but they’d also been planning on a larger haul, which they did get. Magnus just had a spot of bad luck with the security guard he’d knocked out waking up before he was supposed to, and way more quietly than he had the right to possess. Tony really shouldn’t have gone off on him like he did. So, Henry didn’t take the shot. Tony did. Henry did more than enough to pull his own weight. He was doing just fine protecting them.

Henry caught the ball and shut his eyes. But that was just part of the problem, wasn’t it? He _couldn’t_ take the shot. In fact, he might’ve gotten shot himself before killing that damnable passenger. This hadn’t been Henry’s first rodeo. He’d had to shoot them down before to save his own skin.

God _dammit_. Howie was right. He was spending way too much time around Dave. Around Dave and Charles. If he wasn’t careful, he’d get soft. He wouldn’t shoot when he needed to. He might even get hurt or, worse, get in the way and someone else could get hurt or even killed. Heh. That was already happening, though. He couldn’t even find fun in a simple jewelry robbery anymore.

_“The General already gave you a pardon. But everyone expects you to go right back to being a criminal, maybe even a notorious one. You don’t have to, you can prove them wrong if you want to.”_

…yeah, that was definitely it. He spent a lot of time around Charles and Dave– _especially_ Dave of late, but his childhood had practically been defined by Charles. Henry was a Toppat, through and through. His fathers were the Chief and his right hand. Henry was a strong member of the Clan, perhaps not yet an Elite, but he was trusted. They depended on him, they trusted him. Henry couldn’t trip up like that again. He couldn’t go on another heist if there was even the thought of him not taking the shot. It would end in someone’s injury or, God forbid, death. But… what if the next cop he hurt had been one of Dave’s friends? What if some government agents jumped them and Henry was forced to shoot down one of the Buck twins or June or Liam? There was no way on this planet he’d be able to shoot down Charles and Ellie, not at all. But if he started making exceptions, if he started _looking_ for people, that would slow him down. Just half a second’s pause could mean life or death. It’s not like any of them would even think about hesitating to end Henry’s life if it came down to it. Maybe to see if they could arrest him, but no other mercy would be considered.

He sighed and pulled himself up. Well, now was about the time he went to meet Dave normally. Maybe talk more about his friends. _“Oh, hey, by the way, I’ll probably need to kill a cop or security guard or something who you might know next time I botch a heist, I hope that’s okay with you.”_ Because Dave would take that _very well_. Or he could ask Charles and Ellie for advice. Like he didn’t know the answer to _that_. Charles would just urge him to go “back” to the straight and narrow. Ellie would suggest the same, if veiled in some sort of “follow your heart” advice because that’s just what Ellie does.

Henry tossed his ball onto his desk. It bounced and landed in the pencil holder beside his computer. Trapped, it rustled the pens as loudly as possible and caused the holder itself to wobble dangerously for a few seconds before settling. Heh. That dumb holder was heavy with thick rings held together by bars for structure and netting near the bottom half. It was supposed to be used to hold small devices–anything from explosives to scramblers–but instead he set it on his desk and filled it with pens. After all, that thing was too clunky to take around everywhere. It did just as good holding a handful of pens and a bouncy ball as it did holding a few scramblers and electronic lockpickers.

Henry shook his head and got up. Yeah, no. He couldn’t risk anyone’s neck because he was indecisive about which side he owed allegiance. He could just… keep himself out. He could still help organize some patrols, some heists. He could still do his job. He just wouldn’t be going out into the field!

…they’d see right through that. Anyone who knew him and how active he was–Henry was outside the airship longer than he was inside it–would find a very large problem with it. Well… he had some vacation time saved up? A few more days, test himself out. If he was still having problems, he’d just claim he needed to take a break and sort some stuff out. Yes, perfect plan. Tony probably complained to a few people how Henry and Magnus “screwed up” so if Henry took a break, that should be enough explanation, if any further explanation was required. Right? Yeah. Great plan. Amazing plan.

So, anyway, how was Dave doing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go~! I apologize for it being so late, but I did want to do this some justice. I kind of like this ending. >3>
> 
> Hey, Dave, guess the, uh, mixing alcohol and meds thing didn't quite work out here...


	9. And the Underground Will Go Empty (2/6)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired endings: TK, GSPI

# Chapter Two

_You’ve Got to be the Bad Guy_

Jesus Christ, why was Henry so damn _awkward?_ Okay, so, _maybe_ he could use the defense that he was drunk off his ass. But did he seriously actually just… kiss Dave? Not only that, but he scared him off. Dave was a prisoner–Henry’s prisoner, despite the fact that neither of them liked it. There had to be some sort of universal rule against that, right? Something, something, jailor loves prisoner or vice-versa. There were plenty of cliché movies like that. Or plots driven by the prisoner breaking free using the jailor. But that made no sense, Henry already agreed to free him, he wasn’t going to go back on his word. Dave didn’t _need_ to do anything for, or to, him to keep Henry on track. Dave could just reject him and that would be that, but he didn’t.

Aw for the love of–he had to make this right somehow. Surely it was just something… that he didn’t want to piss off Henry and risk losing his imminent promise of freedom. Then he got scared at the last second and had to leave. It had to be that. Henry just needed to reassure him that Dave could tell Henry to fuck off and then insult his mother–er, fathers–and Henry still wouldn’t go back on his word. Dad Reginald taught him that a man was only worth his word. One who broke it didn’t care about his honor and dignity and didn’t deserve respect. Henry liked being dignified and liked knowing he had honor and claimed respect. He liked being trusted. But more than that, a promise was a promise and it felt… bad–like _really_ bad–even considering breaking it.

Henry ceased his pacing–wait, when had he started pacing?–and found his way to his closet. A pounding headache drilled itself into his skull, he felt no other desire than to just lay back down and take the stress off his tired legs, and honestly, he might kill for a glass of water. He could only do that once he got to the cafeteria. He needed a good washing off, change in clothes, and then he could rejoin society. Well, the main body of Toppats currently eating breakfast, in all technicality. He grabbed his spare charger and pushed the rolled up, tied cord into his pocket. Never know when or where he might run low on battery, right?

Dad Reginald and Dad Right gave Henry an odd look when he went to breakfast, but Henry brushed it off as disturbed sleep. Neither of them were pleased with the explanation, but no one pried, either. With Ellie gone–Henry had to tell a few people she was taking a step outside for a little while–people put two and two puzzle pieces from separate puzzles together and stopped questioning him or Ellie.

Henry had yet another person to apologize to, whoops. In his defense, he didn’t claim anything. He just… didn’t give anything either. He shuddered as he imagined what _anyone_ on the ship would say if they found out what had happened last night. Any part of it. From stealing drinks, to drinking with a prisoner, watching movies with him and even–

Through the day, Henry busied himself with his duties, despite the fogginess in his brain. Eventually, his ugly and frankly annoying symptoms eased up by noon. Henry, carrying a box of chicken salad with a slice of cheesecake, made his way into the Brig. He didn’t say anything as he pushed the lunch under the flap in Dave’s door. Dave did not instigate the incredibly necessary dialogue, either.

Henry stood up and leaned against the door to Dave’s cell, away from the window, his back pressed against the cool metal. “So… Dave.”

“Hey, Henry,” came Dave’s voice. Quiet.

“So, I know that, um… last night things just, uh… got a little out of hand,” Henry started. “And I meant to just… give you a good time, you know? Have a few drinks, watch a movie, celebrate. I just, uh… I went a little too far, you know. So, I just wanted to, you know, apologize or something.”

“No, it’s fine. I mean, we both were kinda…” There was a short silence as Dave tried to draw upon the right words. “–not thinking straight. I, uh, I led you on and-and, then I ran away. I was thrilled you would do something like that–er throw that little two-person party. It was special and nice. No one’s ever just thrown me a party to celebrate something just about me. And to think, it was a Toppat who did it.”

“Heh. Well, if I was breaking a few rules already, why not push some more? After all, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing, as Ellie likes to say.”

“Ellie sounds great.”

“Pfft! You haven’t hung out with her for more than a few minutes. She’s a menace. Oh, God, don’t tell her I said that. She’ll never let it go.” In all seriousness, Ellie would never harm Henry, but man could she put “vindictive” to work in a somehow friendly and classy manner.

Laughter came from the other side of the door, muffled by metal and plastic but still there. Like birdsong through a window. “I won’t! I promise, not a soul will hear me say that.” He heard a quiet _thump_ as Dave fell back against the metal of the same side of the door as Henry.

Henry said, “You’re the best, you know that?”

“Heh. Thanks, Henry.” Another pause. “Hey, uh… I just-just wanted to tell you something. Since last night, I just wasn’t, er… well, I wasn’t… wasn’t lying. I like you, Henry. A lot. I was scared, at first. I was scared that you would get bored of me, that some day you might start listening to your fellow clan-mates. I was scared to admit it to myself, much less to you. But now I… I’m not. I know that you’re there for me. Not like I didn’t think you were before, but it was just this voice in my head trying to make me doubt you. It’s gone now, that stupid voice. I like you. I know you probably don’t think the same way–sober, at least, and that’s what matters–but I wanted to make sure you knew that.”

Henry stared at his shoes, unable–unwilling–to smother his grin. “Jesus Christ. I thought you were just scared I’d leave you here to rot if you ticked me off.”

“Of course not! I know you would never do that, Henry!”

The thief snickered. “So, you wanna say that to a thief? A Toppat?”

“Well, not just any thief or Toppat,” Dave admitted. “But not all thieves are bad.”

“And not all cops are bad. I kinda like you, too.”

Then, the semi-silence of the Brig, bothered only by their own voices, was broken by the tune of Henry’s phone alarm. Henry groaned and fished the device out of his pocket to turn it off. “I have to go back to work. Ugh, you’d think the universe would give us a minute or two, right?”

Dave puffed in laughter–short and quiet but full of amusement. “Have I told you how many times that’s happened to me on break?”

“No, but I think I know what our next conversation will be about. I have to be off. See you later, Dave.”

“See you later, Henry.”

Henry slowly pushed himself away from the Brig door and made his way back to the hallway that would take him to the Boardroom, where a meeting was to take place. Meetings could be rather exciting, which is something Henry knew was the opposite of most places, or they could be incredibly boring. There was very little in between. As soon as Henry entered, he knew it was going to be a _boring_ meeting. They were talking about a prison break, but only in theory. The rocket launch was so close, now, that they would need to wait until after to conduct it. Since they only had the plans and theories on how the station would work, they only had the plans and theories on how the prison break should work. At least they’d gathered what prisons they needed to hit and who was trapped in them.

Oh, but then something exciting happened. Well, not exciting in a happy way, per-say, but in an airship-shaking way.

Henry leaped to his feet as the emergency alarm wailed through the ship. The Boardroom emptied as the Toppats–Slice unlocking the weapons vault to arm them–ran out into the hallway. “Slice, Floyd, Harry: Bay area! Winston, Douglas: scout through to the Med Bay. I’ll check the Bridge!” They scattered, running in the directions Henry ordered. Henry was technically not an elite, but he may as well be with how much he’d been involved in the top ranks’ meetings and the weight of his own judgement.

The Bridge buzzed with life. Thomas and Oldmin were there scrambling to lock down their systems while Henry didn’t _immediately_ see his fathers. But Dad Reginald rushed into Henry’s vision and took to his station. Dad Right ran over to the communications panel, growling his own orders, he himself armed and ready to take on anything.

Henry rushed to Dad Reginald’s side. It was there he glanced out the window see military helicopters. _Lots of them_. Dad Reginald spat curses as the ship jolted and tipped, frantically trying to escape the armed and ready helicopters. There was a break in their formation and the airship charged it, forcing the broken line to move or be forced out of the way.

Dad Right looked back only long enough to say, “Henry! Keep control of the ship!”

“Yes, Dad!”

Then, Henry was off, rushing into the hallways to catch members of the Clan. With any sense of confusion, he straightened them out as quickly as he could, thinking fast and praying he was moving and organizing in a way Dad Reginald would need. He ended up sending quite a few of the weaker members up to security and defense, while stronger members found themselves at weak points in the ship. The Bay was especially guarded, and two people–despite the complaints from the doctor who was _not_ weak–stood guard in the medical wing. Then, there was a cluster of people in Records, evacuating all evidence of the Toppat Clan’s thorough records and then booking it, hiding the folders and papers in seemingly random places throughout the ship–hiding them in the walls, the floors, taped to the lining of trash chutes or ventilation shafts. Blackmail or folders not traceable to any Toppat were scattered and kept in slightly less secure places, places that a person would assume they were hidden, but hidden well enough to look like they were trying to secure them.

Henry was sure he was going a little overboard, but with that many government helicopters and that many weapons pointed at them, Henry could take absolutely no risks. The government had no solid evidence to back up the need to shoot them down. But knowing the volatility of some of them, especially higher ups who wanted nothing more than to crush them, he had a bad feeling they no longer cared.

Unless…

No, that wasn’t possible. They had no evidence of any wrongdoings from the Toppat Clan as a whole. A few individual members _maybe_ , but not the Toppats as a whole.

Henry, panting, found himself back in the Bridge, just for a quick check up. But as he made it toward the front of the ship, the weirdest sensation of… _falling_ took over him. It wasn’t heavy, by any means. It was only strong enough to be aware of it occurring, not enough to throw him off his feet or make him ill. It was enough to twist a bad feeling in his stomach. _Something was very wrong._

Henry opened the Bridge. And there they were.

The Toppats within the Bridge–Dad Reginald and Dad Right included–were on the ground, pinned by both boots and guns. Air rushed inside through the shattered glass. Now he knew why they were falling; the ship had no captain to steer it and Henry doubted Dad Reginald had enough time to set an auto-pilot. Someone was there at the pilot’s seat, but struggling to decipher the non-plane, non-helicopter controls.

Henry bristled. As he whipped his gun forward, pointing to the man holding Dad Right, someone grabbed him from behind. Another sidled around so he was just within Henry’s vision, the barrel of his rifle within sight.

“Drop your weapon. _Now_.”

Henry narrowed his eyes in a glare but let go. “And how, exactly, are you getting this ship to the ground? Don’t you need a competent pilot for that?”

The man didn’t answer at first. Henry didn’t look away, though he did wish he’d taken a look at Dad Reginald first. Whatever was happening to him made it impossible for him to steer the ship. The man’s eyes flicked to Henry’s blue top hat with a golden “H” pinned to the hatband. “You’re Henry Stickmin. Either you land this damnable ship or your crew dies with you.”

Henry hissed a curse, but he knew the futility of the action. The man holding the scruff of his neck–fingers digging into the space between his fake skin and metal spine–pushed him to the pilot’s seat. The presumed helicopter pilot evacuated, giving Henry the place he needed. The back of his neck still burning under the gaze of every soldier _not_ pinning someone to the floor, he took control. Now, Henry wasn’t exactly an expert, not like Dad Reginald or Dad Right, not even like Sven who was required to learn due to being third-in-line. But he did remember what he’d picked up by watching them and listening to Dad Reginald explain what he was doing.

Henry gritted his teeth as the airship jolted in his grasp and he could barely stop himself from shaking. But the landing gear groaned out of the body of the ship as they were lowered to the ground, gently enough to not give him a heart attack. They didn’t move forward, the ship being hostage.

Then Henry was torn out of his seat and orders were barked from the other soldiers. Henry, repeating every curse he’d ever picked up in his head, followed them with his hands up to the Bay, where everyone else was being _“escorted.”_ Dad Reginald and Dad Right were on their feet, Dad Reginald staring ahead with a flat, dazed expression, bandages hastily pressed down on his forehead, and Dad Right all but foaming at the mouth. They found Howie, calm as could be, being taken from Records. Henry didn’t remember sending him there. Though, he didn’t remember seeing Howie at all.

Henry, hands up above his head, glared a hole in the back of Howie’s head. Oh-ho-hooo this was _not_ the end, not by a long shot. Someone was going to pay for this.

They were handcuffed and shoved into large military vehicles. Henry stayed behind for a few seconds as someone deactivated his left arm. After they were patted down and their weapons taken, Henry and Howie got to sit next to each other. But, before any other Toppats could be brought in, a soldier hopped in across from them and the doors shut.

 _“Wait, it’s not full yet,”_ said one soldier.

 _“Didn’t you see the hat? That’s Henry Stickmin. He’s too dangerous to be put in with the others,”_ scoffed the second.

_“What about that other one with him?”_

_“Ollie’s back there with him. Besides, orders are orders.”_

Henry glowered at the soldier with them, a man holding a rifle and looking between the two with narrowed eyes. The second Henry got out of this vehicle, there would be hell to pay. Please let those two who were riding… yes! Yes, the front doors opened allowing two people inside. Hopefully, those were the two who had been talking. Call Henry petty, but he loved the taste of irony.

Outside, the vehicle rumbled off.

Howie said, “So Ah heard yer name’s Ollie.”

“Yeah.”

“Do ya happen to know anythin’ about dog food?”

The soldier gave him a weird look. Admittedly, Henry did as well. The soldier asked, “What?”

“Actually, Ah take ya for a skater. You like skatin’? Skateboards and such, not roller skates. Though, Ah guess that’s technically skatin’?”

“What the hell are you going on about?” the soldier asked.

The passenger-seat soldier groaned loudly. “Ollie, he’s referencing skateboard styles.”

Ollie blinked. “I don’t use a skateboard.”

Henry snorted. “You are filled with the weirdest references, Howie.”

Howie shrugged, disturbing the chain on his handcuffs. “Ah try.”

“Shut up back there!” called one of the soldiers.

“Fuck yourself!” Henry called back. The passenger seat soldier whipped around and glared at him through the metal grate separating the front and back seat.

Howie raised an eyebrow. “Now is that any way ta talk ta company?”

“He started it,” Henry defended. “Besides, Howie, if they were guests, they’d be less likely to insult us in our own home. And, you know, _cripple me._ Because I know not all military act like such assholes. There are good people in the force.”

The passenger soldier snorted. “And _you_ know people in the force?”

“Yes. Like the person who outted the Clan. Do you remember them?”

“That’s none of your business, Thief.”

Henry shrugged. “Thought so.”

Howie turned to Ollie. “Hey, do ya have any playin’ cards?”

“Playing cards?” Ollie echoed, more confused now than before.

“Yeah. It’s a long trip, Ah’d expect. A good game a’ cards helps time fly.” He showed off his handcuffs. “See? Ah’m not even able ta cheat. As if actual cheaters stuff cards up their sleeves.”

Henry laughed. “Holy shit, I remember doing that once and you ripped me a new one!”

“That is the absolute worst way ta cheat, Henry. Ya certainly learned your lesson, didn’t ya?” Howie chuckled.

“Oh, I very much did. It’s the straight and narrow from me.”

“If ya call lyin’ like there’s no tomorrow ‘straight an’ narrow.’”

“Ellie never complained.”

“Ellie’s a cheat, too.” Howie looked back at Ollie. “An’way, Ah’m gonna chance a guess an’ say ya don’t? Shame. Ah left mine back on the ship.” He called, “Hey, can we go back right quick and grab ma playin’ cards?”

“Sure,” scoffed the driver. “Let me just take those handcuffs off you while I’m at it.”

“You’re such a dear,” Howie hummed.

Henry looked at the soldiers, and then looked past them. The convoy lengthened and thinned as they started to approach a trail straight across the mountain, the left side a sharp mountain up and the right a sheer cliff. Henry chuckled, “You’re hilarious, Howie. Say, what was your favorite card game? I think it’s Paskahousu.” Henry tipped his head to the left a little, eyes narrowed in thought. “But it might be BS.” He tipped his head a little to the right.

“Definitely Bullshit,” said Howie. “Paskahousu. Ah don’t know whether to laugh or be hurt.”

“It’s a foreign-esc game, you like those,” Henry countered, rocking forward to adjust himself and then back to set his back against the seat.

Howie nodded to Ollie. “What about you, Ollie? Any favorite playin’ card games?”

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuh,” was Ollie’s response.

Henry glanced at the windshield, where they were closing in on the cliff, and snorted. “Sooner than later.”

Howie clicked his tongue. “Ain’t that a bit rude?”

Henry held up his cuffed hands, only able to use his right arm. The metal of the handcuffs dug into his wrist as his heavier arm only weighed him down. “Sorry if I’m a little sharp at the moment.” He set his hands down.

The passenger soldier groaned, “Oh shut _up!_ You’re getting on my nerves! Ollie, do something, won’t you?”

Ollie sat up straight and turned to Henry. “Yes.”

Henry snorted, barely holding back a laugh. Howie snickered. Henry managed to say, “Hey, Ollie? Do you want to hear a joke?”

Ollie narrowed his eyes. “No.”

Howie hummed. “Come, now. Ah know we’re on different sides, but ya don’t have to toss common decency out the window.”

“Ugh, fine. Sure. What is it?”

Henry smirked. “When did driver realize he was going over the edge?”

Ollie raised an eyebrow. “When?”

“Now!” Then, as if Henry and Howie had escaped a military vehicle a hundred times before, they launched themselves forward at the same time, ramming into the right side of the truck with every bit of force and weight they had. Ollie, now pressed up against the wall by Henry, shouted and tried to push the man off. The driver and passenger screamed, one yelling something into a communication device. But whatever they were attempting to do was too late as the truck, already off balance as it ran a turn, lost its footing and tumbled off the cliff.

Henry held onto Ollie, shutting his eyes tied and tensing. Ollie clung to his seat with every bit of strength he could muster. Howie held onto the seat with both hands. Unfortunately, gravity wasn’t kind and each time their vehicle hit the cliff or a rock or broke through a tree, not only did they chance hitting the floor or said wall, but the entire car jolted and parts dented.

Finally, their hop turned into a roll, barreling down a steadily softening cliff and hitting rocks and trees.

When Henry was sure the world had stopped moving, he opened his eyes. His feet touched the ceiling, as that’s where gravity pulled him. Ollie, his head bleeding from a bad knock out, hung limply in his seat. Howie dropped and landed on the crumpled ceiling, grimacing. “Ahhh yep. Ah banged my head, and ma shoulder ain’t bein’ too nice ta me.”

Henry grabbed a pair of keys off the man and landed on the ceiling as well. Howie managed to activate Henry’s arm again, despite his own restraints. So, Henry undid his own cuffs and then Howie’s. “You can grab that.” Henry gestured to the discarded rifle before heading to the back. One of the doors had broken off completely and the other was barely holding on. He hopped onto the thick, leaf-softened ground, walked around one of the trees, and then made it to the driver’s seat. He opened the door and knelt. The driver was out cold, mouth partially open and blood smearing the wheel and his forehead. Henry snatched his handgun and then went around to the other side.

The passenger soldier groaned and opened his eyes. “Wha…? I’m alive?”

“Yep. Have fun.” Henry hit the man over the head with the gun.

Howie walked around the other side of the vehicle, his footsteps a little unsteady. “Hey, they don’t have our weapons.”

“Yeah. Guess these are just ours, now,” Henry replied with a short shrug and then went back to the front seat. He pulled out what looked like a really thick vest. Rather than ammo, survival supplies decorated it. Howie pulled a first aid kit and a few bottles of water from the front seat. Henry donned the vest and backed up. “Have fun here, mates. Try not to die. C’mon, Howie. They’ll be here any minute.”

Howie nodded, grabbed a backpack from the back of the vehicle, stuffed his supplies into it, and followed Henry. “Do ya know where we are?”

“Not really,” Henry replied. “But I have an idea. We can keep following this valley until we get somewhere with people.” He pointed further down the valley, but nudged his head in the opposite direction, toward the airship.

Howie’s eyebrows wrinkled. “Not a good idea, but Ah’ll follow ya no matter what.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's the GSPI talkin' for you, huh? _When will they learn they can't hold down Henry?_


	10. My Kingdom for a Ship (2/5)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired endings: TK, TR/PP

# Chapter Two

_Punishment and Redemption_

So, Ellie was in the Brig and Henry found that he had been removed from the afternoon meeting he’d put together himself about a museum heist for an old artifact. Slice had replaced him as planner. If they sent that new recruit Henry invited to teach about the process, Mark Emu, he’d be shocked. Since Henry had just finished his rotation with the Warehouse, that wasn’t where he was going.

“So, Henry,” Howie said as they put away their dishes. “I could use an extra pair of hands if you’re not busy.”

“With?”

“It’s just a diplomacy mission, of sorts, but since you never go to those, I thought I’d invite you.”

“…yeah, sure. Why not?”

Henry still had time to visit the Brig in the morning and evening and during the afternoon. Henry knew his dads knew he was visiting the Brig more than just to deliver food at certain times of the month… especially since this wasn’t Henry’s time of the month. But, since Henry was never confronted, he doubted it mattered.

“Still grounded?” Ellie asked.

Henry shrugged, leaning on the bit of wall between their doors. “Sort of. It’s been two days and I’m here right now visiting you guys. I’m sure it won’t be long, now, until I know what’s happening. But I’m still on Warehouse duty in December, though.”

Dave echoed, “‘Warehouse duty?’ What do you mean by that?”

“Winter cleaning,” Henry answered with a lackadaisical wave of his hand. “It’s really menial stuff, which I was assigned back before you were a secret agent, or before you told us, technically, Ellie. Oh, well. The whole Clan participates so it’s done before the holidays.”

“Do you still think I’ll be helping Joan or nah?” prompted Ellie.

Henry snorted. “If you’re still in the Clan? …probably. You are still new to the Toppats. It’s like the, uh… Toppat version of the intern grabbing drinks for everyone? I dunno, I never worked as a security guard.” He chuckled to himself. “Did you guys ever do that?”

“Mm… no, not that I remember,” Dave confessed.

“I’m guessing you didn’t, either?”

“I moved a couple of times a year, I didn’t _need_ to do any tidying up,” Ellie pointed out.

Henry’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the text ID and pushed himself off the wall. “That’s Dad Reginald. Talk to you guys, later!”

“See ya!” Ellie hummed and Dave said his goodbye.

Dad Reginald and Dad Right talked to each other behind Dad Reginald’s desk. They quieted when Henry entered after a knock and request to enter. “So, hey.”

“Yes, hello. Henry, the information Ellie gave us was very insightful,” Dad Reginald stated. “She is a very clever and competent woman. In hindsight, it is very difficult to put the blame for any of this on you. We were completely blind sighted. Knowing you two have been very close for a very long time, to expect anything _but_ devoted trust is rather foolish. So, _your_ suspension is over as will Ellie’s imprisonment be. However, I was still quite serious when I said you should not be the one looking for recruits. It’s precisely your bias toward her that lead you to inviting her here. Our trust in you–which we still have, you are still trustworthy and a loyal member of the Toppat Clan–made me less hesitant to recruit her despite her past. Normally the Toppat Clan does not care about one’s history or name, but under circumstances where her immediate family and friend circle was involved with the government is different. Ellie is still going to be demoted, but both of you are still on the rocket plan, even if her place needs to change. You will have no influence over _that_ , either. Understood?”

“Yes, Dad. I understand.”

“Good. Bring Ellie in here, I’d like to go over a few things with her.”

“Sure! Yeah, definitely.” Henry gave him a thumbs up and slipped out of his office. He somehow managed to keep his semi-straight face as he entered the Brig and unlocked Ellie’s door. “Hey, Ellie bean! Dads want to talk to you.”

“I’m honored,” Ellie hummed, meeting Henry outside. She was without her hat, but otherwise dressed nicely. “So, why did he ask you to come on your own and then bring me? Wouldn’t he have asked for us both at the same time?”

“He probably didn’t know I was meeting with you,” Henry admitted.

“Maybe. Hey, they aren’t mad at me, are they?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“They aren’t mad at _you_ are they?”

“Nope.”

“Good.” Ellie stretched as they walked. “Yeah, I get why no one wants to be captured by the Toppat Clan. Poor Dave.”

“Yeah.”

Henry knocked on the door to Dad Reginald’s office again and then let Ellie in first. Dad Reginald didn’t tell Henry to leave, so he stayed. Ellie got the same spiel, though rather than be about Henry’s blind loyalty to Ellie, it was how thin their trust was of her.

“Hey,” said Ellie near the end of their meeting. “I know I shouldn’t be saying this, but the government. I was literally hired by them and they were willing to break me out if need be. But I was talking to the other prisoner, Dave. Has no one come to collect him?” Henry’s heart skipped a beat. What was she…?

Dad Reginald shook his head. “Not that I recall, no.”

“So, the police or government or what have you, the people supposed to be helping people like Dave or protect against people like us, abandoned him.”

“That is correct.”

“Well, if the government abandoned him, can we take him?”

Dad Reginald started at this and glanced at Dad Right, who raised an eyebrow at her. Dad Reginald stated, “You think Dave could be a Toppat. The security guard we captured for nearly ruining our operation near the museum.”

“Yes.”

“He doesn’t have the skills of a thief nor the heart, we’ve observed nothing special about him. Is there a reason he deserves to be in our ranks?”

“I think so,” said Ellie. “He’s no thief, but he’s got the mind of a cop. Wallace Pemberton, he was a cop. He guarded a prison. But he’s a Toppat.”

“A deal was struck, and he broke four Toppats out of a high security prison almost on his own.” Dad Reginald waved her off. “There’s a difference.”

“But he wasn’t a criminal before and he still knows how the system works now,” Ellie pointed out. “Dave’s completely disillusioned with his old life, one that would let him stay pent up here rather than even try and look for him. Heck, he worked at the same museum my cousin did and I barely remembered he was missing because my cousin mentioned it once or twice months ago. So, he may not have the skills _now_ , but with some training, he’d be a good clan mate, right?”

Dad Reginald shook his head. “That’s poor reasoning at best. Ms. Rose, we contemplated ejecting you from the Toppat Clan for your betrayal, even if you came back to us in the end. But you are skilled, and we believe your conversion is genuine. _This_ doesn’t help matters. There’s absolutely no guarantee he wouldn’t go back to his old life in secret and possibly do as much, if not more, damage than you.”

Ellie nodded. “I get it. I just wanted to throw that out there. You could always just put Henry in charge of him and see where that goes. Right, too soon. Sorry, sir.”

“Yes. That is too soon. Now, get back to work, the both of you. You’re dismissed.”

“Thanks, Dads! We’ll be on our best behavior!” Henry shot them a wide grin and let Ellie out.

“Sooo, I don’t have a schedule,” Ellie said. “Since, you know, getting, uh, ‘laid off’ or whatever for a while does that. Do you think I’m still allowed at the table?”

“Oh, I can see if I can plan anything with you. Of _course_ you are. You’re still the greatest, after all. Mm, second greatest.”

“Oh, yeah, Howie’s pretty cool.”

“…you know how hard it is to be offended at that statement?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw, well, she tried.


	11. Protagonists and Heroes (2/4)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired Endings: VH, T4L

# Chapter Two

_Curse, Bless, Me Now with Your Face and Tears, I Pray._

Henry wasn’t even buzzed, but he knew Ellie wouldn’t have taken that for an answer. Still, right now felt like the _perfect_ time to go way farther than that. But, rather than go to the kitchen where he knew there were a few drinks stored, he decided to say his goodnight to Howie and head for the Brig.

Henry stayed quiet when he entered the Brig and looked in through the plastic window. Dave, standing with his back to the wall opposite the bed, looked up from his feet. “Henry?”

“Dave?” Henry echoed. “What are you doing awake?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Dave admitted. “Guess I’m just used to being awake right now. Uh, what are you doing? I thought you were with your friends.”

“Yeah, no, I left,” Henry admitted. “Got in a bit of a fight or whatever. Do you want to come out?”

“…do you want to?” Dave ventured. “You don’t look in the mood to really… well, do anything, I guess.”

“Meh. It’s probably bad, but I’m just gonna have a drink or two and wallow in self-pity. Want to join me?”

Dave shrugged. “Okay.”

Henry opened the door, giving Dave freedom. “I’ll meet you back at my room, okay?”

“Okay. Are you going to be here tomorrow?”

Henry shrugged. “Maybe. I’ve got plans tomorrow night but not the morning. Kinda thought I was staying the night, y’know? Might change, though.”

“I understand. You still have your friends here, right? And your family?”

“Yeah, I’m not alone.”

_Just as long as nothing else happens, he’ll be fine._

Henry almost skipped dinner the next day but decided against it. He’d hardly remembered what happened last night or in the morning, concentrating mostly on how dumb all of his life choices were up to that point. Still, he may as well meet with his family at the dinner table.

“Henry, we didn’t see you come in this morning,” Dad Reginald commented. “What happened?”

Henry shrugged, playing with the last of his corn. “Charles and I got in a fight and I left early. Last night. It’s fine, though.”

“Ah. I’m sorry to hear that, Henry. But friends quarrel, it is just a part of being different people, after all,” said Dad Reginald. They didn’t go further into the topic.

But after dinner, as they went to finish their tasks, Sven ran up to meet them. “Chief!” he called, slightly wheezy from the long run, but not enough to warrant a break in his speech.

They stopped. “Yes? What’s wrong?”

“The prisoner’s extremely sick,” said Sven.

“What?” Henry barely realized the word came from him.

“What happened?” Dad Reginald agreed. “I don’t recall anything in that cell being lethal.”

Sven shrugged. “I don’t know. The doctor’s looking him over, though.”

“I’ll go check in with him,” Henry claimed immediately and ran to the medical wing. _That couldn’t be right. Sven had to just be wrong. There was nothing else to it, Sven just didn’t check on him correctly and assumed the worst. The doctor would know that Dave just wasn’t feeling well–from the alcohol last night, most likely–and then scold Sven and tell Dad Reginald and Dad Right, who’d skin Henry alive for letting Dave out and getting him drunk. But Henry had been with him_ last night _, it couldn’t be anything bad._

Henry stopped in front of the medical wing and rushed inside. The front entrance was empty. Henry started to go further in before multiple memories of the doctor chewing him out for entering without permission came to mind. The doctor was extremely territorial for no good reason, as far as Henry was concerned. Of course “needing to concentrate” and “not having people bothering the patients” were good reasons. But Henry wouldn’t do that, he just needed to find them.

Still, if Dave was sick, that meant the doctor would be busy. There were nurses on board, though.

Henry stepped back and went to pacing the room.

Howie eventually stepped inside, tense and step quick until he arrived. “Henry?”

Henry glanced at him but didn’t stop. “Yeah?”

“What happened? Do you know?”

“Sven said he was sick,” Henry stated. “But no one’s come out. So, I don’t know.”

Howie sighed. “Jesus. Well, ya ain’t doin’ any good pacin’. Come sit down.”

Henry stopped and looked to the passageway leading deeper into the Med Bay. He shook his head and continued his pacing.

“Henry.”

“I’m fine,” Henry mumbled.

“Yer not fine.”

“Of course I’m not fine!” Henry snapped back at him. “He was okay last night! In fact, he was a lot more cheerful than he had been the past few weeks.”

“He was?”

“Definitely! He completely and definitely _was_ fine, happy even. He talked me out of my own misery and self-pity, for the most part. I’m still just acting childish.” Henry kicked at the clean floor.

Howie didn’t respond. He allowed Henry to continue fuming and ranting.

Finally, a nurse walked out of the hall in the Med Bay. Henry stopped his pacing and rambling and turned to her. She asked, “Henry?”

“What happened? How is he?” Henry prompted, immediately coming to meet her.

“Well, he died of a drug overdose,” she admitted, looking down at her clipboard quizzically. “Unfortunately, he was unable to discover which drug it was, but has taken blood and tissue samples to send out for testing, as to know what it was. More importantly, we want to know how it _got_ there. So, he has requested someone to examine his cell.”

“Ah’ll do it,” Howie volunteered, standing up.

Henry held up his hand. “No. No need.”

The nurse cleared her throat. “Henry, this is very important. If the prisoner somehow had drugs of any sort on his person, this is extremely serious and needs to be investigated. It could have been hidden in his clothes or it could have been given to him by a Clan member. We need to know–”

“He took them from me,” Henry said. “The sleeping medicine I keep in my cabinet. He must have found those.”

The nurse blinked. “Wh-what? How did he have access to that?”

“Because I let him out,” Henry stated, his voice neutral. _No use in saying otherwise_. “He stayed in my room for a while. He knew where it was, and I didn’t toss them out like I probably should have.”

The nurse narrowed her eyes. “So, you’re telling me that you let the prisoner out and gave him access to potentially lethal drugs?”

“Yes. I didn’t think he’d take them, I just forgot they existed.”

The nurse turned to Howie. “You heard this, right?”

Howie nodded but said nothing.

“Well.” The nurse squared her shoulders. “I’ll need to inform the doctor the tests are unnecessary, then, and explain the situation. You wait here. _You_ inform the chief we need him here. As I’m sure you came here at his behest, no?” She turned and walked back into the medical ward.

Howie set his hand on Henry’s shoulder. “Ya didn’t need ta do that.”

“I did,” Henry mumbled. “There’s no use in keeping that a secret, anymore. Not now that he’s dead.”

“Sit down. Ah’ll go get the chief.” Howie turned and left, hesitating by the door to the medical wing, but only for a moment.

Henry finally sat down in the last chair in the waiting room, head in his hands and elbows on his knees. So, he lost Charles after telling him the truth about his own life, and then he lost Dave because he couldn’t see he wanted to do it, or at least just toss out the medicine in the first place. And now his parents would be here, and Dad Reginald would get onto him about letting a prisoner go free. Or tell him he was being manipulated _again_. Heh. What was next? Would this sever his relationship with his fathers? He didn’t talk to Ellie and Charles since he told them. Was Ellie mad at him, too? Was he going to lose her as well? He would have liked to keep her around. Then again, that relationship was built on a lie, too. He still had Howie, though. He still had Howie and Katie. No matter what, they were his friends.

Henry didn’t feel like moving, not even as he heard multiple footsteps enter the medical wing.

“Chief?” called the nurse. “Good. The doctor would like a word with you and Henry.”

Howie chipped in, “Didn’t he already say what happ’ned?”

“The doctor wants first-hand accounts when available. And our first-hand account is sitting right over there.”

Henry let go and pulled himself to his feet. “It’s fine, Howie.” He met them at the other side of the medical wing but didn’t meet their gaze. Instead, he watched the curtains separating the waiting room from the first bed.

“Henry,” Dad Reginald stated.

Henry didn’t look back at him.

“Chief.” This was the doctor. He walked out with his hands behind his back.

“Doctor.”

“If what my nurse said is true, we have something very important to talk about. Mr. Stickmin?”

Henry resisted a flinch. He _hated_ that tone and that title. The doctor very well knew that. “Yes?”

The doctor let out a short sigh and rolled his eyes. “Always making it _difficult_. Chief, the prisoner died of a drug overdose. My nurse claims Henry had been the one who’d given him access to said drugs. If he’d given him access to _that_ , the alcohol in his system is no mystery, either.”

Chief Reginald turned on Henry in an instant. “Henry, is what they’re saying true?”

“Yes,” Henry admitted, his voice barely above a mutter. “Dave was my friend. So, almost every night after the buzz of the day wore off, I’d let him out and we’d meet up in my room so he could just… move and stretch his legs. I completely forgot I still had that sleeping medicine the doctor prescribed when I was a kid. And I was moping so I offered to share a few drinks with him. I didn’t know he’d take all that, or I would’ve tossed the pills earlier.”

“…you’ve been letting that prisoner roam free for _months?_ ”

“Yes. Sometimes just in my room, sometimes out in the halls. We’d go to the gym or stand out in the platform on occasion.” Henry shut his mouth and swallowed.

“Howitzer, did you know about this?”

Henry looked up. “No,” he said, immediately cutting off anything Howie would say. “I was afraid he’d persuade me not to or that he would tell you so that I couldn’t put myself in danger. Of the two of us, he’s the more responsible one.”

Dad Reginald asked, “And that is how the prisoner died?”

“Yes, it is,” confirmed the doctor. “Drug overdose, most definitely helped by alcohol.”

The Chief shook his head. “Dispose of the body, then. Henry, come with us.”

“Dave,” Henry corrected. “Dave’s body. He had a name.”

“Not to us,” Dad Reginald cross and walked outside, head held high and narrowed eyes forward, Dad Right at his side.

Henry and Howie followed behind, Howie’s shoulder touching Henry’s. Henry shrank into himself and took a step to the side. Dad Reginald glanced back at him. Though he opened his mouth, he shut it again and turned back ahead. Soon enough, they were in Dad Reginald’s office, where it was quiet, and they were alone.

After a moment of silence, Dad Reginald stated, “Henry.”

Henry, still not looking up to meet his gaze, responded, “Yeah?”

“I know this is redundant now, but it was incredibly foolish to befriend the prisoner. I thought you learned this lesson as a child. You befriended the Wall guard and he ended up manipulating you and kidnapping not only you, but Katie as well. This prisoner, he could have asked for the same thing. If you _were_ allowing him to leave the Brig, what would stop him from pushing further, from asking to leave entirely?”

“Dave didn’t want to cause any more trouble than I already toed with,” Henry explained, too exhausted to feel offended. “He was happy with what I did for him and I was happy to have his friendship.”

“But you were planning on freeing him eventually, anyway.”

“…yes. I didn’t know if you wanted him dead before we launched, so I planned on sneaking him out when you weren’t looking. He didn’t know any Toppat Clan secrets, I never told him anything. Mostly we talked about his life and the present, what was going on in the world. He wouldn’t have done anyone any harm.”

“You can’t– _shouldn’t_ trust anyone of the law, you know this. We taught you this,” Dad Reginald stated, his voice firm.

“I know.”

Dad Reginald sighed, the tenseness in his shoulders lessening by the slightest bit. “Howie, take Henry back to his room. Henry, report back for breakfast tomorrow. You are dismissed.”

“Okay.” The same word coming from both the men had two wildly different tones.

On the way back down the hall, Howie attempted to touch his shoulder. Henry shied from his touch. He didn’t need comforting; he didn’t deserve it. Not when Dave was dead, and Charles and Ellie were gone.

Before Henry could walk through the open door to his room, Howie took him by the shoulders, his grasp tight and surprise forcing Henry’s eyes to go up and meet Howie’s. “This ain’t your fault, Henry. We’re still yer friends, the chief and his right hand love you, and Dave was gonna off himself no matter what you said. You an’ Charles an’ Ellie’ve been friends for over half your life, longer than the time ya spent alone. Ya can’t shake them off that easy, got it? Rest up. If ya need me fer anything, don’t be afraid to call, understand?”

Henry slowly nodded. “…yeah.”

“Good.” Howie’s grip relaxed. “Ah’m sorry about what happened li’l buddy. Ah know things are bad right now, but they won’t always be bad.”

“Okay.”

For a while, they stood there, the door to Henry’s room refusing to close now that a body took up the space the doors would normally occupy. Eventually, Henry ducked out of his grasp and walked further into his room.

The door shut behind him.

Henry trudged to his bed and lay down. Dark and quiet and tired, he couldn’t sleep, at first. The exhaustion of the day and his bitter grief took away any real ability to stay awake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hnnnnng-It's not worth it.


	12. Is there LOVE in your Heart? (2/3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by: RBH, R

# Chapter 2

_Left on the battleground for one I called my friend._

_Beep… beep… beep…_

Sound was the first thing to come to his hazy senses. There was that insistent, monotonous beeping. The far of _whirr_ of machines formed, and the distant slapping of water upon the hull tinged the edge of his mind.

The taste of… metal and medicine filled his mouth. It almost made him want to gag from surprise and the newness of the taste. Something was stopping the action, though. Suppressing it. Was he under? Was he waking? Was this some fevered state where he toed the line between reality and dreams? Or was he dead and dead people tasted this mix of steel and chemicals, heard the whirring of machinery as their body underwent an autopsy?

The foul thought of death wriggled its fingers into his foggy brain. As his breathing started to change, the smell of saltwater tried to cut through the fog. It was so sharp, so sudden. It tried to overpower the dull, nigh scentless… place of which he resided.

Speaking of which, where was he? Something soft but somewhat firm like a hospital bed conformed to his body. Was he… in a hospital…? No, he was dead. He was bound to his body, forced to be only half aware of the autopsy. Or death was just some sick twisted path of dreams that tasted faintly of reality.

Henry forced himself to open his bleary eyes. The gray ceiling above was interrupted by a face. A female face, a little older; forties, perhaps. Blonde hair pulled back over her head in a ponytail, but some rebellious strands whisked over her nose and her pretty green eyes hidden behind rose tinted, oval glasses. As she slowly came into focus, the senses that were once dull started to come back.

Henry pulled himself up, groaning and touching the gauze wrapped over his head. He expected to feel the same in his left hand, but he didn’t. He didn’t feel the pain of cuts nor the softness of bandages enveloping his hand. Yes, his right one was rather… weird, but his left one? There was no feeling, as if his entire left arm was put under heavy pain medicine. But his mind still had awareness of it. He knew he was touching his hand to his head, as he could feel it on his head–along with a rather bad headache, ow–but his hand…

Then, the events leading to where he was slammed into him and he jumped, his head whipping around, searching the area for the threat that nearly killed him.

The woman gasped and held out her hands, “Hey, easy, easy!” Henry turned back to her, calming slightly, but still prepared to jump to his own defense. “You were gone for a bit, but I was able to bring you back to life.” She stood up straight and lowered her hands, pausing only to readjust her glasses. “I specialize in military grade augmentations. I was forced to replace spine and left arm as some of damage you sustained was beyond repairing.”

Confused, Henry removed his hand from his head and looked down at it. Rather than flesh, he found metal. He commanded his fingers to move. The metal pieces near the end twitched and curled in and then out. A large blue circle like a button or light was imprinted in his palm, nearly overtaking it completely.

Henry slid to the edge of his bed, confusion overtaking fear or curiosity. His back felt… well, it didn’t. He didn’t actually feel his spine. Some metal crossed over his chest and his left shoulder was completely replaced, but for the most part it was contained to his spine from his head to his tailbone. He knew his spine was there, he was aware of it. Yet, he didn’t feel it.

“You had run-in with Toppat Clan, да?” Her eyes narrowed and she looked to the port at the end of the room, where no door hid the slightly cloudy sky or the ocean. “I’ve encountered them before.”

Henry got to his feet and staggered to the port, his fingers clutching the doorway, eyes passing over the edge of the ship into the distance. “Easy, you’re still healing!” she called after him. Henry elected to ignore this advice and made his way to the edge of the boat, clutching the railing for safety and stability. But as his senses and strength returned, he felt his balance beginning to come back. “They went west, about ten hours ago.”

Henry turned to look at her.

“In case you are wondering.”

He looked back to the ocean, this time, turning to look west. The boat was pointed to the northwest.

“Come, sit down,” the doctor offered. Reluctantly, Henry turned to her and obeyed. “I am Dr. Vinschpinsilstien.” _Russian? Dutch?_ “I found you in water, after Toppat Clan passed over.”

“благодарю вас, доктор,” said Henry, struggling with his own English accent as he switched entirely to her language. “But, why?”

Dr. Vinschpinsilstien, showing no changes in emotion, said, “I’m sorry, I could not leave you in ocean to die. How did you come to fall, дитя?”

“I’m twenty-four, лекарь, not a kid,” Henry pointed out.

The doctor raised her eyebrows. “А-а, понятно. You have young face. What should I call you?”

“…Henry,” he responded.

“Well, Henry, I did not wish to see you drown. I managed to fix you. But you must take it easy, you are still healing, да?”

Henry nodded. “I am… I don’t know how to feel, лекарь.” He looked at his right hand, now. It was bandaged, and far away he could feel the tinge of pain. However, the bandages were still light, unmarred by dry blood.

Dr. Vinschpinsilstien gestured to the hand. “This hand, I barely recovered. You must be careful for short time while it heals, вы понимаете?”

“Да. I understand.” Henry let out a small sigh and set his hand on his lap. “Did you see any military helicopters fly after them?”

“Oни убежали.” The doctor’s voice was a little somber. “Many of their helicopters were destroyed, either from damaged sustained or no living pilot. Two managed to leave intact.”

Henry nodded. “Это хорошо.” He looked up, meeting her pale green eyes. “My friend was on one of them. Did you not find any stragglers? Was I the only one you could reach?”

“К несчастью, нет. All fell over land, out of reach. Some lived to fight another day. Your friend may be among those who survived.”

“I hope so.” _Let Ellie rot in hell, but Charles didn’t deserve death._

Dr. Vinschpinsilstien and Henry spoke for a little while longer, Henry answering some of the doctor’s curiosities about his physical body and what had happened to make him into what he was and the doctor explaining her job. It was here that Henry had to admit his connection to the Toppat Clan.

“Занимательно,” Dr. Vinschpinsilstien said. “You were thrown from ship, and I found no hat. But that is what I get for assuming, Да?”

Henry stated, “They would never throw me off the ship.” _That’s probably what Terrence thought._ The sudden thought invaded his mind. He shook it off. _Terrence was a reckless traitor. Henry was not._ He huffed, as if the new idea physically hit him. “They think I’m dead, не?”

“Да. I would think so.”

He bowed his head and shut his eyes. “They think I’m dead.” He spoke clearly in his native language. “Dad Reginald knows Dad Right is dead, and now me. Oh, God. Dad Right is dead.” He put a bandaged hand to his mouth.

“That is deputy?” Dr. Vinschpinsilstien ventured, respecting Henry’s use of English.

Henry nodded.

“Hmm. No.”

Henry blinked. “What?”

“He is not dead. He was injured, but I repaired him.”

_“Henry, I know that you’re a Toppat. I thought I could do it. I thought I could kill you, but I can’t.”_

His eyes narrowed into a glare and felt that _anger_ flaring up inside of him again. “My best friend did that to him. She betrayed me. When she went after Dad Reginald, the chief, she killed Dad Right. Then, when I tried to stop her, she tried to kill me.”

_“Henry, I’m sorry.”_

He sat up straight, as he had caught himself slouching. “Doctor? When you say ‘cybernetic enhancements,’ what do you mean?”

“Cybernetic augmentation not only fixes your body, but makes it stronger,” Dr. Vinschpinsilstien explained. “Let me demonstrate. Stand up.”

Henry got to his feet and took a few steps forward at her command.

“These augmentations are connected to base of spinal cord as well as vagus nerve. They should respond to your brain as any other action. Just as you wish your right hand to move, you may wish your left one to do same thing. But I do not stop there. That is cybernetic _repair_. Cybernetic augmentation is additive.” She pressed down on something on his lower spine, just past the base of his ribcage.

Henry jumped as two wings like those of a jet burst out on either side of himself. Henry looked back, his eyes glazing over the smooth metal wings and the small engines attached to each one for thrust. The bandages laying in two strips parallel to his spine were undisturbed. “Whoa,” Henry breathed.

“And this.” She took him by the wrist and suddenly, with the click and squeak of metal and mechanisms moving, his hand was gone, replaced by a rapier. He waved the sword in front of himself a few times. He thought for a moment, and then concentrated on his hand. The rapier squeaked as metal shifted and widened into a bat. He looked back. As concentrating on his hand was easy–after all, he’d been doing it since he could grasp objects–his spine was a little different. He never commanded it to do anything; even when he bent or stretched, he was relying on his muscles. Still, he would need this. He needed to master himself.

The wings folded and retracted back into place.

“You are learning so quickly!” the doctor announced. “Now, Henry, my work is done. I have revived you, and now you learn to work with body. Where will you go?”

Henry looked at her and then his hand. The bat shifted and Henry once again had his left hand. He could go back to the airship; he needed to meet with his fathers again.

But Henry’s mission would be for naught if–when–the government’s forces recovered and attacked. Ellie was quick and clever. Henry taught her a lot about self-defense and fighting. It was his desire to protect her, and let her protect herself, that got Dad Right killed. She was the monster that he created, and so he was the one that needed to bring her down. Now that he could fly, she couldn’t just shove him off an airplane.

But Henry was not yet comfortable with what he was. He did not know how to use his body fully. Besides, now that he was presumed dead, he had the advantage. No one would expect Henry’s return, and he could strike before they knew any better.

“May I stay here?”

“Stay?”

“Yes. So, I can learn more about this,” Henry clarified.

The doctor nodded. “If you wish to learn, you may stay. Perhaps, if you stay, I might change things, make it easier or better?”

“Deal. Thank you, Doctor.”

Dr. Vinschpinsilstien had been patient over the months at sea and showed a great amount of interest in him. Whatever Henry had been when he first woke, he did not know. The longer he stayed and practiced, the more time the doctor had to examine and tinker with him. They stopped at ports on occasion for food, fuel, and supplies, but Henry stayed on the boat, quiet and invisible as a ghost. Time was kind to Henry, being long and quiet, away from the excitement of the day-to-day life of a Toppat, or the flurry of a city or adventure or even the slightly more chill mood of visiting a friend’s house. Of course, the memories he had of the latter tasted bitter and wrong.

Nearly three months had passed, and Henry was not only healed, but as used to his cyborg body as he had been used to his normal one. It was now or never, he supposed. If he was lucky, the government was yet unaware of Henry. If he was lucky, Dad Reginald and everyone– _most_ everyone, at least–else on the airship were alive and free. Through the grapevine that Dr. Vinschpinsilstien had a surprising amount of which to put her ear to, they heard the Toppat Clan had gathered somewhere in the Dogobogo jungle. There was something about a rocket? Was this the idea for the rocket plan Dad Reginald and Dad Right talked about?

“You are leaving.”

Henry turned around, his hands still gripping the railing on the edge of the ship. He felt the cool metal beneath his right hand, chilled by the night and only beginning to become alleviated under the morning sun. Dr. Vinschpinsilstien stood behind him, her arms folded behind her back.

Henry nodded.

“I understand. Thank you for your company, Henry. Good luck.”

“Same to you, Doctor.”

He heard her chuckle. “You are smiling.”

“Huh?”

“You smile a little. I was uncertain if you were capable of it.”

Henry thought for a moment, the amused smile he held leaving him. “…me, too.” With that, he turned around. Jet wings popped out of his spine. Then, he was in the air, soaring with recently energized jets keeping him aloft high in the sky. So high up, in fact, that he could barely see what was going on below him. He heard a short _hiss_ as he put more energy into the jets. He turned; his angle much wider due to speed.

Thankfully, Dr. Vinschpinsilstien’s boat had been swimming in warmer waters. Was that coincidence? She went where her boat wished to take her, she claimed, and her boat had sought warmer water. It was rare, as she mostly stayed in the north, but it happened on occasion. Henry quickly went back to thinking. He needed to find this jungle base. Then, he would search for any hidden government sources. If, or when, he found them, he’d look for Ellie. Only after she was gone would he go back to the Clan. There was no way around it. He vowed to end this.

Far into the jungle, hiding in the shadow of tall cliffs above a winding river some distance away was what looked like the top of a fancy building. But, as he got closer, he found it was a _rocket_ surrounded by a cluster of buildings and the end of train tracks already occupied. Henry’s eyes narrowed. Some distance away was an encampment. Dark green tents and quickly made or mobile buildings huddled together. A rough trail wound through the jungle leading to it.

Henry cooled his jets and swooped down. As he neared the ground, he turned in such a way his jets pointed to the ground. He landed on dark earth made darker by the dappled shadows of trees and bushes. His wings retracted into his spine and he crept forward. The shadows falling from the structures weren’t long at all as the late morning sun hung over them.

Then, one of the helicopters started up. Henry’s attention snapped to the vehicle. He narrowed his eyes and crept forward. He couldn’t hear a thing, and he could barely see anything, but he _did_ notice one of the figures by the helicopter was not wearing the armored, green suit of a soldier; a figure whose flaming red hair fluttered in the breeze created by the helicopter’s spinning blades. Henry glared at the object and crouched. His wings snapped up.

Henry flew low over the trees and then around to the back of the encampment. He slid out of sight of a sniper in a tower by entering a rather large tent. Set before him, dark in the shadow of the tent, was a massive red tank. The thing was _enormous_ and so complex… like the airship of tanks! The thing, if set loose, could cause some _major_ destruction. But he couldn’t unleash it on Charles. So, Henry would need to time this.

Henry walked around and peeked out the front of the tent. He saw a singular helicopter flying toward the rocket. Henry gave it a flat look and ran around the tank. Well, that single helicopter _had_ to contain Charles, as it would be Charles piloting Ellie and those two would be the obvious choice if “putting all their eggs in one basket” was the government’s _master plan._

Henry pulled from his pocket a little yellow lever attached to a suction cup. He attached it to the end of the tank and tapped a button on the corresponding remote. The lever shivered and made a high-pitched trill before letting out a burst of electricity and energy, which threw Henry back and caused the tank to growl to life. The tank rushed forward on a mission, leaving Henry on the ground behind it.

The tank stopped and shot, blasting apart a quickly constructed tent-building. Soldiers in the vicinity whipped into a panic as the machine went on a rampage, flattening and blasting apart everything it neared in its ire. A helicopter flew overhead and was very quickly shot down by an automatic turret attached to the tank. Yep. Henry would _not_ have figured out all that.

He continued to watch, wincing as Big Boy charged past. He ducked behind some rubble as the monstrous thing blasted apart the giant tent that once sheltered it.

Then, just as the ravaged camp thought it could not get any worse, a giant metal egg the size of the tank crashed into the ground in the middle of it all, attracted to the chaos that now reigned. The tank stopped before it. The egg pushed itself up on three legs before splitting in half and allowing the top part, armed with a laser, to shoot and strike at the tank. With a mind of its own, Big Boy dodged and fought back with speed and bloodlust.

Henry was thrown clear out of the way by a stray shot from the tank, shooting past General Galeforce and hitting a wall. He got to his knees and looked around as the soldiers fled the scene of the battle between metal goliaths.

Henry got to his feet and darted to Big Boy’s smaller, tamer, dark green grandnephew–a military tank. The soldier within, holding a walkie talkie screaming about a retreat, looked around. Henry grinned and darted into the trail. _The helicopter was on its way, it had to be._

However, rather than going straight to the helicopter, Henry flew down the trail. Once he was far enough away that he couldn’t even see the encampment down the trail he shot up into the sky. A singular helicopter flew. His flight arched down, and he forced himself to go faster and faster. His hand shifted into a mace.

The lone helicopter shuddered as Henry crashed into it, arm outstretched so his weapon bent and tore the metal.

Screams erupted from within the vehicle. Henry tore his hand-mace from the wreckage and shoved it aside. The helicopter’s door spiraled down. As he threw the door, he found his mace had bent. Well, that was fine. It was still useable.

He turned to one of two souls who had originally occupied the helicopter. Ellie gaped at him like a fish out of water, her body fitting the heavy dent in the door behind her. “You’re alive?”

Henry snapped his hand to the side, forcing its shape to change into a rapier’s.

Charles turned around. “Henry! I thought you _died!_ ” Charles’ body jerked to the side, as if he had just tried to get up but his halter prevented it.

Henry’s dark look faltered. _Poor Charles. He didn’t deserve any of this._

Henry gasped as he felt Ellie’s foot in his chest.

He stumbled back, unbalanced, and hung at the edge of the copter. Ellie, a rifle in her hands, spun so that her side was parallel to the ground and kicked him as hard as she could.

He wheezed at the pain in the non-metal part of his chest. Still, he flipped over in mid-air, and his wings snapped out. He looked up, only to find Ellie’s gun pointed at him. “Enough of this!” he barked and rushed forward. He felt a bullet imbed itself into his right shoulder, but he didn’t care. He shoved her back and pinned her to the wall by the neck, his metal fingers not quite digging into her neck as to allow her to breathe, ripping her weapon out of her hand.

The helicopter wobbled as Henry’s impact damaged it and its flight further.

“Henry, calm down!” Charles yelled. “Let’s talk about this! Before we crash, please?”

Ellie grabbed at his wrist and arm. “I gave you a chance, Henry! Two of them!”

Henry shook his head. He stepped back, allowing her to fall to her feet. His hand shifted into a stapler. Ellie yelped as her body hit the edge of the helicopter. She struggled and pushed at the giant metal staple that now trapped her. She stopped upon realizing the futility of the action and looked up at him. “What now, Henry? Going to crash this helicopter and let us all die?”

Henry looked outside. Yep. A broken helicopter falling from this distance should decimate anything inside. They were _very_ close to the rocket site, but even if they fell at, what, a forty-five-degree angle they shouldn’t hit anyone, much less the rocket or its station. He pointed his palm straight up, the bulb-esc thing on his hand glowing with energy before letting out a bright blue laser. The helicopter’s alarm wailed as its motor broke and wings went crooked and broke themselves straining to keep moving. He saluted her and strolled to the cockpit, where Charles struggled to get control of the machine.

Henry cut off the straps holding Charles in place. Although he tried to grab the pilot, Charles shooed him off. “N-not yet! I just need to get a controlled landing before this thing crashes!” A parachute, part of it torn from Henry’s attack, popped out. A few weakened strings snapped, and the torn parachute fluttered uselessly in the wind. “No, no, no, no! There has to be something! Come on!”

“Charles, come on,” Henry ordered. “I can fly–”

“But Ellie can’t!” Charles shot back. “I can’t let her die, man!”

“What about yourself?”

“I have to try,” Charles stated, a sudden resolve overcoming his fear. “You’re both my friends. I tried to save you both, Henry. I’m going to try again.”

Henry looked down. Despite Charles’ best attempts, the ground was still rushing up to meet them. Henry’s wings flipped up and jets started. Then, Charles jumped up and rushed to the door, grabbing a parachute on the way there. He forced the door open a little, hooked the backpack to it, and yanked the cord. The parachute burst out. They yelped as the helicopter flipped onto its side. Its door strained and part broke. They looked up as the part Ellie was _not_ stapled to flew high up above them. Or, rather, stayed while they plummeted. The metal of the helicopter screamed as branches scratched and snapped past it. Henry grabbed Charles around the middle and

*** * * * ***

Chief Reginald made his way onto the ship, following the last of the crewmembers. He stared ahead. Months had passed, and the hurt was not gone, not even faded. It would not be for a very long time. The world was a cruel place, and everyone knew the risks of being a Toppat. They were a group of criminals, after all. When plans went awry, there were bound to be casualties. He couldn’t be putting the life of one above all others. He couldn’t mourn one when so many others were relying on him, waiting on his order.

Chief Reginald hadn’t noticed he stopped until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back. The cyborg behind him matched his look. Half of the man’s face was gone, replaced by metal and a red glassy screen where his eye should have been. His legs and his entire right arm had also been replaced by metal. Reginald lost one, but he still had the other. Chief Reginald let out a small sigh. He half-hoped Henry would be there by now. Just like when he was kidnapped and taken to the Wall. They thought him gone forever, but Henry–an eleven-year-old boy–somehow made his way out. Maybe… maybe Henry _had_ survived that impossible fall. Right Hand Man survived being thrown into the engine. Henry could, too. Right?

“I know, Right.” He turned back to the ship. “We need to take off.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ellie Rose was kicked by H Stickmin  
> VICTORY
> 
> Whoooooooooof. If y'all didn't know my stance on "revenge" and "justice" you do, now. Revenge is not a dish best served cold, it's a poison. No matter who you are, no matter how small or isolated you think your revenge is, how much that person needs to be brought to _justice_ , it's not just them you'll hurt. Justice isn't the same as vengeance.  
>  _Anders go brrrrr_
> 
> Also, RHM and Reginald are both alive and neither has been arrested. Charles was alive, for a little bit. Henry does not take being betrayed very well. In "Revenged" Henry very well could have left them alone. But he allowed his rage and hurt to take control and decided to take down Reginald, no matter the cost. And, well, in canon the entirety of the Toppat Clan paid the price for Reginald's sins and Henry's revenge. Here, it's the government camp and Charles.
> 
> Say no to revenge, kids.


	13. It Wasn't Me, I Was In Electric (3/7)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired Endings: TCW, FM

# Chapter Three

_Staying the Night_

Henry hobbled back to the Brig. He stretched, grimacing in the bruises he disturbed in his arm and side, then the one over his eye. The ice he had over his eye helped. He passed through the door and approached Dave’s cell. The man was sitting, solemn and staring at his lap.

“Hey, Dave,” Henry greeted, grinning. “Wallace won’t be bothering you anymore.”

Dave looked up and gasped. “Henry!” Dave jumped to his feet as Henry opened the cell door. “What _happened?_ ”

“Wallace begged for a fight and I gave it to him,” Henry admitted and plopped down on the bed. “I got in some bad trouble after, but it was _very_ worth it.”

Dave sat down beside him. “You didn’t need to do that.”

“Of course I did! He’s a meat head that doesn’t know how to listen to words,” Henry puffed. “It’s not like I was going to let him off easy; he was going to come back and attack you again. But now, he’ll think twice about trying.”

Dave smiled. “Thank you, Henry. …you look pretty roughed up.”

“Do I?”

“Heh, yeah. You know, Officer Gritz liked to say that breaking up fights between inmates was the _worst._ ”

“Glad we’re not inmates, then! Did you ever have to break up fights between officers?”

“Not me, no. Not many people hung around people they didn’t like long enough _to_ fight. That and the punishment was pretty severe.” Dave hesitated. “So, uh, what was the punishment for fighting?”

“Oh, I’m the adult form of grounded,” Henry stated. “I’m not allowed on any missions, and I’m taking up some good ol’ menial jobs for quite a while. I think I’m helping with the clean-up crew in the kitchens? Yeah, I think so. Wallace probably wasn’t as harshly punished because he didn’t ‘start’ the fight, I guess. I technically threw the first punch, even though he was the one trying to start it from the get-go. But whatever.”

Dave looked over Henry’s black eye. He set his hand on Henry’s to try and warm Henry’s numbing fingers. “…you know, no one has actually gotten into a fight for me.” Dave chuckled. “Though, not many have started around me, I guess. You know, I thought that when I was captured, it was all over. It was actually a little worse with you because I thought that since you were a Toppat… but you haven’t. You’ve been great to me and made it bearable here. Thanks, Henry.”

Henry chuckled. “You know, I have the weirdest habit of liking people of authority. My best friends were military kids, and I liked their parents. Now I’m here with you. Funny, huh?”

“Heh, yeah.”

For a moment, they were silent, Dave quite shifty and uncertain and Henry watching him through one eye. Then, Henry set down his icepack, intertwined his chilly, damp fingers in Dave’s, and brought him forward for a kiss. He felt the man’s body go rigid. Before Henry could back off, embarrassed, Dave curled an arm around his back and held on tight.

Although his attention to the soreness of his arm and face, and how the change from cold to warm bit at his fingers was near to nothing, what he _did_ hear was the door open and then another door shut behind him. They jumped and turned around, finding the door shut–and thus locked–behind them.

“Jesus _Christ_ , you make this so easy,” Wallace puffed, his voice thick as his nose was still too tender to use properly.

Henry bristled. “Wallace you–open the door!”

“Nah. I think I’m going to let your _dearest dad_ do it for you.” Wallace snickered.

A cold flash bit his veins, but it was gone quickly enough. Henry squared his shoulders. “Fine. I’m not scared.”

“Heh. Dumb kid.”

“And I’m _not_ a kid!”

Despite this, Henry kept his right hand on the bed behind him. Dave held his hand tight, out of sight of the door.

The entrance to the Brig opened and there was Dad Reginald and Dad Right. Admittedly, some of Henry’s bravado wavered upon seeing them, but he kept his back straight and his head up. _Henry wasn’t doing anything wrong, so there was no guilt to admit._

Although Dad Reginald had a rather sour look of annoyance before, upon seeing Henry, who still sat beside Dave, hiding him from sight, his expression immediately twisted into a scowl. “Henry, what are you–I was hoping Wallace was mistaken, but he isn’t.”

Wallace huffed, “Well, they were just about as attached as could be with their clothes still on.”

Henry stated, “Well, I don’t know what _he_ told you, but yes. I am spending time with Dave. And I do like him, quite a lot, actually. I know for a fact that he doesn’t belong here. I know why he’s a prisoner, but he’s been here for months, and would have been _alone_ if it was up to you! Don’t you think he’s been through enough?”

Dad Reginald looked at Dad Right, who stared right back. Expression unreadable, he turned back to Henry. “No, Henry you are right.”

“What?”

Wallace’s smirk dropped and Henry’s grimace faded in the wake of confusion. Dave tipped his head a little to look past Henry.

“He doesn’t deserve to be here.” Dad Reginald turned to Wallace. “Throw him off the ship.”

Dave tensed and Henry’s eyes went wide. “Wh-what? No! No, Dad Reginald, you can’t do that!” Dad Reginald said and did nothing.

Wallace opened the door. When he tried to get past Henry, the man jumped to his feet and got back into a fighting stance, pushing Dave back. “Take another step forward and I’ll do worse than break your nose!”

“You heard the chief,” Wallace crossed. “Now get out of my way.”

“No!” Henry barked. He tore the glove off his left hand, which transformed into a rapier. “I won’t let you lay a finger on him. Dad Reg–Dad Right, do something!”

Dad Right made a tiny noise like a huff, and raised his eyebrows, but did nothing. Well, it wasn’t short of anything Henry expected; Dad Right was always hard to read and never great with emotions or attempting to change Dad Reginald’s mind, most of the time.

Wallace glanced back at his superiors. Dad Reginald let out a terse sigh. “Henry, stand down. Now.”

“Him first!” Henry spat. Still, his eyes darted from place to place, seeking a way out. Even if he could flatten Wallace–which he could definitely do, even when injured–he couldn’t fight his dads, either of them. He hardly stood a chance against Dad Right even without the familial bond they shared, anyway.

Henry was trapped.

Henry couldn’t protect Dave.

…no, no that wasn’t it. There had to be another way! He glared at Wallace again, who still hadn’t moved. Dad Reginald and Dad Right hadn’t spoken, hadn’t moved. They knew when they had the advantage, when they were right. Henry didn’t need reminding. _Well._ Henry turned his sword back into a hand, refusing to break Wallace’s gaze. He saw the man’s stance slack, near nervous expression turn back into a smirk.

Henry kicked Wallace square in the chest as hard as he could, successfully knocking the man back out of the cell. Henry grabbed the edge of the door and ripped it back, letting go just fast enough to let it slam shut and lock itself without breaking Henry’s fingers. Without a beat lost, he whipped his hand around to face the other end of the cell and activated the laser embedded in his palm. A large chunk of metal spiraled off into the ether. He heard the door open behind him but didn’t pay it any attention. Instead, he grabbed Dave and leaped out.

_Screaming._

Henry heard Dave beside him, Henry’s hand still holding the back of his shirt tight, and he heard his parents above him. There was nothing the three who stood in the Brig could do. Neither could Dave, obviously, having no parachute. Henry wrapped his arms around the man’s chest. His own wings flipped out and the engines activated, turning their messy fall into a level dive. He struggled to pull himself up so they were more level to the scrubland.

Dave had stopped screaming and now held onto Henry as tight as humanly possible–maybe even more with the adrenaline in his veins.

Henry looked back. The giant airship so far above got smaller and smaller as they flew in opposite directions. He turned back ahead. Well. Henry was officially on the run–or flight?–not only from the government for his crimes, but now the Toppat Clan. There was no _way_ anyone there was going to accept him back, not after the stunt that he just pulled. Howie was right; the moment everyone knew how much he cared about Dave was the moment they’d turn on him. Even his own _parents_ turned on him.

Afanasiy was right.

They were just criminals, weren’t they?

No, they were good people. Most of them were very good people. Henry loved them, he did. But life was like that, it seems.

Eventually, Henry got quite tired of holding Dave. The airship was out of sight. A small town nestled on the highway was near them. So, his flight turned into a dip and he slowed down. Once near the ground, he tipped himself back so the engines faced the ground and they landed safely.

Henry’s wings folded back into his spine.

Dave stepped back once free. “Oh-oh my God.” He ran a hand through his wild hair. “I-I can’t believe you did that.”

Henry, huffing, gave him a weak thumbs up.

“Why?” asked the former security guard, immediately meeting Henry’s gaze.

Henry swallowed and stood up straight. “I love you. That’s why.”

“B-but your family, the Toppat Clan…”

Henry winced and rubbed his bruised arm. “Yeah. W-well, I didn’t have very much time to think, you see.”

“And you still saved me. You didn’t have to. Thank you, Henry.” Dave smiled, but the look was fleeting. “…what now?”

“I don’t know,” Henry admitted. “Let’s, uh… let’s get out of this heat, first.”

It was a little late that day to really try anything, so Henry managed to buy a night at a small hotel. He wasn’t quite keen on the place, being small and well worn, but a one bed bedroom for the night was good enough.

Henry ended up spending some time at the bathroom, gently washing his eye off with chilled water. A vending machine in the front area provided him with a cold water bottle, which he held to his eye as he lay down, his jacket and shirt neatly folded on the chair next to him. Dave quietly joined him, his own jacket over the back of the chair.

Henry’s phone buzzed insistently. Finally, he ended up silencing it and setting the technology on the chair as well. “G’night, Dave,” he muttered.

Dave pulled the blanket up over them both. “Good night, Henry.”

So, to live on the run. Henry had only gotten a taste of it with Katie, ironically because of his friendship to a prisoner. Well, now, Henry was doing it again–as an adult, this time, with an adult boyfriend perfectly capable of defending himself. That didn’t mean Henry was going to be any less relaxed. Dave wasn’t a baby girl, and they weren’t in Canada being chased by the Wall. Even if they were, Henry had survived _twice._ Still, the Toppats were way different than the Wall. They weren’t looking to kill or hurt Henry, far from it. But if they wanted to get to Dave, they’d have to get through Henry. Henry had months to find a way to get his parents to release Dave, and he didn’t. Now, because of his inability to keep their relationship a secret, Dave was going to die.

 _Not on my watch,_ Henry declared, his eyes shut and breathing steady and under control. He was blissfully aware of how close Dave was to him, now. How he held onto Henry’s hand and rubbed his shoulder where he knew the cold caused the bone under the metal to ache. But Henry was also very aware of the silence of the room, water rushing through the pipes, the low grumbling of the city as cars rushed through the street, even at this hour. Night would be the perfect place to just _drop in_ on them, now wouldn’t it be?

“Henry.”

Henry’s eyes snapped open. He relaxed upon catching Dave’s gaze. “Hmm?”

“You need to relax,” the former security guard breathed, running his fingers over the side of his face and through his wild hair. “You’re tired.”

“I’m fine. I’m going to sleep.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Um, to which?”

“Both.”

Henry sighed and shut his eyes. “Yeah. I… look, Dave. I don’t regret helping you, but it’s a little freaky, you know?”

Dave hummed.

“We can go back to New Mexico, if you want. S-see if your old place of employment is, uh, _there_. Maybe drop by the police station?”

Even in the semi-light that washed all the colors from the room and stole all the details, Henry could see Dave’s expression shift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, now the scene ends. This would've been the perfect segway into "Brashness of a Broken Heart" which I almost wrote to completion before tossing it out the window because no one needs that kind of angst in their life. Probably.
> 
> Also: Merry Christmas!


	14. Ohana Means Family (3/7)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired endings: TR, CG

# Chapter Three

_Health and Healing_

“Are you ill?” Dad Reginald was neutral, his words a little upturned in curiosity or concern or perhaps both.

Henry shook his head. “I’m not sick, I don’t think. I’m just… I’m losing my concentration. The heist I went on went south near the end and if it wasn’t for Tony, I would’ve been shot down at the very least. I’m concerned about my reaction time. I have a pretty bad feeling if it was just me, we might not have gotten away. I still want to be on the frontlines and I still want to be part of the riskier missions, but I don’t want to risk anyone else. So, I think I should just… go and be by myself for a little while.”

“You _are_ tired,” Dad Reginald remarked. “You’ve been a little slower of late. Henry, go to the doctor and get his input. I want you to get a physical check-up to be sure nothing is seriously wrong, and then I would like _his_ opinion on how we should proceed.”

“Okay. I’ll, um, book an appointment then. Thanks, Dad. Should, uh… I be going on any missions in the meantime? I’m still helping some people plan, but I haven’t put myself out in the missions themselves, yet.”

A short silence passed.

“Yes. Your best place right now is on the planning team, so stay there. If it’s truly just your reflexes, heists themselves may not be good, but you’re still a sharp mind. Now, was there anything else you needed?”

“No, Dad. Thanks!”

Henry hadn’t considered the thought of being _sick._ Though, as Henry made his way from the Chief’s office to the medical wing, the thought made sense. Maybe it wasn’t him being conflicted over his job. Maybe he was just coming down with something. Then the doctor would prescribe something for him, and he’d be good as new in a few days and nothing would be wrong with the world! His world, at least. He hummed a greeting to a few people he passed.

Henry merrily made his way into the Med Bay, where he met up with one of the nurses.

“So, Chief Reginald wants a sick note?” she prompted, scribbling Henry’s name down in her clipboard.

“Well, he wants to make sure I’m not sick,” Henry explained. “I haven’t been doing well as of late and almost botched a heist pretty hard yesterday.”

The nurse raised an eyebrow at him. “But you don’t think you’re sick?”

“I might be, I mean, I don’t know anything about medicine. But I don’t feel like it.”

The nurse hummed and tapped the butt of her pen against her clipboard. “Well, Henry, I will talk to Dr. Houston about this. We do have a time for you on Friday, three PM. That’s the earliest I can fit you in. Is that okay? You’re not going out again in the meantime, are you?”

“Yes, it’s fine, and nope.”

“Good. Also, you say you don’t _feel_ sick, but you do? What do you mean by that?”

“I just… didn’t react in time,” Henry admitted. “I almost got shot because I was slow. But it’s not like I was tired, and I haven’t been feeling down. I haven’t been coughing or sneezing. And it was just when we were getting away. An alarm got tripped and we were tailed. I’ve been doing just fine until it came to actually fighting. Does that make sense?”

She nodded. “Yes. I’ll keep that in mind. Good morning, Henry.”

“Morning, Mrs. Criss!”

Henry gave her a little wave as he left and then stuffed his hands in his pockets. So, doctor’s appointment in three days. Then he could give Dad Reginald a doctor’s note, and something would happen. He’d probably just be restricted to the ship to work on plans, if he was going to be completely honest. There was nothing wrong with that. It was better than lounging around doing nothing or putting everyone’s lives at risk because he couldn’t take the shot. Speaking of which, he had a meeting to attend to in ten minutes. No longer left to his thoughts, Henry hurried to one of the meeting rooms.

“Henry, from what I’ve seen, you have a completely fit bill of health,” the doctor stated, staring at Henry from over his jade-tinted glasses. “So, unless your bloodwork or urine tests comes back with some sort of abnormality, you are a perfectly healthy young adult.”

Henry hummed, “Then… I’m okay to go back to work?”

“No, not yet. Calm down.” The doctor scribbled something down and then clipped his pen back to the clipboard. “I’m a surgeon who became a more or less jack-of-all-trades when it comes to the human body, hence why I’m qualified for general check-ups. You, however, don’t need _my_ input.” He held out a paper for Henry to take. “So, _my_ prescription is to go see a mental health specialist.”

“You’re telling me to go to a _therapist?_ ”

“Yes.”

Henry shook his head. “I’m fine, I don’t need a therapist. Are you sure I don’t have like some sort of weird flu or whatever? Can’t I wait until–?”

“No and no,” the doctor cut him off. “I’ve done all I can. Unless you want to stay a danger to the people around you during work hours, you’ll go to a mental health specialist. There are many who are direct contacts of the Toppat Clan but none who work on ship. Go ahead and take that to the chief and make an appointment to meet with one of them. Nurse Criss?”

“I’ll find them,” offered the nurse beside him. “Come with me, Henry. We keep a list of their contact information in the front room.”

Henry took the paper provided and followed her out. “Do I have to?”

“Yes. What are you so afraid of?”

“Therapy is for people who are super messed up or something. I’m not!” Henry complained.

The nurse gave him a quizzical look. “Really? Henry, that’s not true. Therapy is for anyone who needs it. You don’t need to be _messed up_. That’s like saying you only need to go to the doctor’s office if you break a bone or have cancer.”

Henry set a hand on his arm. “Well, that’s different. Check-ups and stuff are important.”

“So is your mental health. Now!” They stopped before the front wall where a closed book was on a table near the other supplies in the corner closest to the double doors. The nurse flipped the book open to somewhere near the end, though it was closest to the middle, rattling a thin chain as she did so. “Here is a list of the therapists we keep in close contact with. They’re all very nice people–I usually meet everyone in person before any arrangements are made–but there are plenty of people and offices to choose from wherever you might want to go. Remember to turn that paper into the Chief’s office and make an appointment.”

“Why do I have to do that again?”

“So, you don’t forget and if you do, the doctor can properly tell the chief to scold you.” She grinned and walked further into the Med Bay.

Henry muttered under his breath as he looked over the list of names. Places, office names, room numbers, locations, and hours were all printed neatly beside the names. Under the book was a folder full of business cards laminated to plastic pages. A few of these pages were dedicated to the mental health professionals; therapists and specialists for the most part. Well… whatever. Some place in New Mexico was as good as any–better than anything in a cold place, at least.

Uuuuugh, this was so _dumb_. He didn’t _need_ a therapist. This was ridiculous. He just needed a little time to himself to straighten out everything in his head. He didn’t need some mind doctor to do it for him. Well, just get it over with. He could just go in, talk for a little while, get told he wasn’t crazy, and then walk on out. That was a possibility, yeah. Unless, of course, whoever it was just _had_ to focus on his kleptomania and for some reason put two and two pieces of separate puzzles together and say that was what was blocking him. He was perfectly fine. Sure, he was a klepto, but he was also a thief. He stole for a profession. It helped, allowing himself to focus on what he needed to grab and taking a few other things without realizing it. Now, perhaps it wasn’t _always_ appropriate, sometimes he got himself into a mess of trouble because of it, but it was fine. He had it under control. He didn’t need anyone else to tell him he was a quack like the last one did.

He should call the therapist’s office before dropping off the doctor’s note to his father. Just so he could say he had all his ducks in a row or some bullshit like that. Or maybe he could drop off the note _first_ and convince him that the notion that Henry _needed_ therapy was ridiculous. The doctor wouldn’t be able to do anything about that! Wonderful idea, yes, he could do that!

So, Henry made his way to the Bridge, where the ship was on auto-pilot. He just caught the two leaving Dad Reginald’s office. “Hey!” Henry called, speeding up to meet them.

“Henry!” Dad Reginald greeted. “What did the doctor say?”

Henry held out the paper for him to take. “He told me to give this to you. He said I was perfectly healthy. But I needed to visit a _mental health professional_ or something, which I think is completely ridiculous.”

“No, that’s a good idea.”

Henry blinked. “What?”

“Yes. You went to one when you were younger but neither of us pushed you to go back,” Dad Reginald stated. “It is a good idea. Did you make the appointment? Or were you waiting for me to agree with you?”

“Er… I couldn’t get a hold of anyone…? Okay, I’ll make the call.” Henry all but mumbled that last part as he left. This was still ridiculous. Dad Reginald just respected the doctor too much to think otherwise. Henry didn’t need a therapist, that was that. Well, he’d go to one session, confirm that nothing was wrong with him, and then Henry could go back to his normal daily life. Hey, he hadn’t been on a heist for almost a week, so maybe something changed. Maybe he just needed to stay in the airship for a while. That could be the case, definitely.

Jesus, this was just a whole waste of time. The waiting room Henry had to sit in for a good hour was small and cozy with large scenic portraits on the wall, an electronic board programmed with a slideshow with information about mental health and issues and suggestions on how to improve mental wellbeing. He’d had a tablet with a questionnaire he had to fill out. Some of it was partially in code for security reasons, but the office and need-to-know workers knew whom they associated with and helped so it was only a matter of _their_ security, in case someone in blue came knocking.

Then Henry was guided into another room, a quaint little office with cozy furniture and limited, if inviting, decoration and a lady who was not behind a desk, but rather sitting across from him. Was that normal or just a her thing? Regardless, this was happening, and he couldn’t just pretend he’d caught a stomach bug and make his escape.

“Well,” concluded the therapist. “–thank you for being honest with me, as you were?”

Henry nodded. “Yeah.”

“Henry, you aren’t crazy. I’m sorry if anyone told you that before. There are some things that happen outside of our control, but you’re a smart young man with a good head on your shoulders. There are some things that you just need to work out. I can help you with that, and so can your family and your friends.”

“Help with what?” Henry blurted out.

“You’re feeling conflicted about your friendships,” she stated. “That’s perfectly normal. People, _especially_ younger people, tend to side with, or desire to side with, their peers. As they’ve been close friends for a long time, it’s only natural you would want to fit in with them. But with your family’s values being so incredibly different, and your loyalty to your family and the Clan, it’s no wonder your confused and guilty. I do believe that guilt you’ve been holding is what is bleeding into your work life. The best thing you can do is try to make peace with your situation. Henry, what do you want out of life?”

Henry raised his eyebrows. Well, _that_ was out of the blue. “Um… I guess what everyone else wants? A good life? Family and friends? Success and wealth?”

She hummed and nodded. “And you are very successful in your line of work and you have great family and friend connections, inside and outside of the Toppat Clan. Your birth parents, what do you know about them?”

“Well, they were both cops,” Henry admitted. “My dad was a Captain or something like that. But they died when I was two. I never even knew them. Then I was put into Red Mesa Orphanage and that was absolute hell.” He couldn’t help the bitterness that crept into his voice.

“And the chief and his right hand, they saved you from that?”

“Yes.”

“Perhaps that’s part of your confliction,” she suggested. “You definitely have a bitterness toward your parents for what you believe was abandonment. Do you know the circumstance of their deaths?”

“Sort of. Kendrick died in the line of duty against some robbers or whatever, and Mary went missing in action during a high-speed chase. I think those ones were Toppats.”

He could _see_ the sudden shift of her train of thought at the words. “So, they were, or at least she was, killed by Toppats?”

“Maybe.”

She sat back. “Henry, you’re a brilliant young man, but you have your troubles just like everyone else. It would be best if you stayed out of the line of fire for right now. We are out of time, but we can make another appointment to meet up again.”

“Okay.”

“Good.” She stood up and set her clipboard down on her desk behind her. Henry got up as well to meet her for a handshake. “It’s been nice to meet you, Henry. Have a good day.”

“Thanks, you as well.”

…so… at least she didn’t call him crazy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As someone who went to therapy once and then hasn't gone back since despite pretty much needing to, it's tough. :3 First impressions are everything, as they say, and to a point, it's true regarding therapy.


	15. And the Underground Will Go Empty (3/6)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired Endings: TK, GSPI

# Chapter Three

_Mercy or Genocide_

So, Dave was nervous. When wasn’t he, right? He tasted freedom. He looked up into the big blue sky. His heart fluttered in his chest and his lungs struggled to work. He was _free_. But, when he looked down, he saw the last of the military trucks holding the Toppats driving off.

_“Jesus Christ. I thought you were just scared I’d leave you here to rot if you ticked me off.”_

Ellie set her hand on his shoulder. “I convinced the General to put Henry and Howie together. So, they won’t be separated.”

_“Of course not! I know you would never do that, Henry!”_

Dave nodded, slowly and without any real energy. At least they won’t be separated. Best friends who could trust each other. Henry revered Howie.

_“So, you wanna say that to a thief? A Toppat?”_

Dave’s thoughts broke as Ellie went on, “I… I tried, you know. I tried to get the Captain to make an exception for Henry. But the Captain wouldn’t allow it. He knew that I knew that Henry would stop at nothing to break his family out of whatever prisons they were sent to. Even if he was alone and they were scattered across the world. But at least they’re together.”

_“Well, not just any thief or Toppat. But not all thieves are bad.”_

Dave looked at Ellie, but she wasn’t looking back. She watched the steep mountainous terrain empty of any vehicles or human life in sight. Did she regret what she did? Or was this something that was better for everyone? Ellie was right. They were Toppats, criminals. They imprisoned Dave for months simply because Dave was doing his job.

_“And not all cops are bad. I kinda like you, too.”_

The former security guard looked away. “It… doesn’t feel entirely right.”

Ellie shrugged. “I know. It doesn’t, honestly. I don’t want to see Henry locked up. But the Toppats are a menace. I love Henry, I do. He’s been my friend since middle school. It wasn’t his fault he got caught up in all this, but he was. Now there’s nothing anyone can do about it.” Then, Ellie went on with a little more energy. “I know that you probably don’t want to do this. But there are more Toppats out there. People that aren’t like Henry, who do bad things. I was just wondering since, you know, you spent so long as a prisoner you would know how the people they captured felt, that you might want to help. Henry’s arrested, so it’s not like you’ll be going up against him or anyone he knows.”

The first thought that came to Dave’s mind was “no.” Hell no. They were Henry’s family. Ellie was _just_ talking about how if Henry was set loose, he’d go to the ends of the Earth looking for his family and breaking them out. When Dave was captured, he hadn’t heard so much as a peep from anyone. There was a police report filed, of course, and his face was put in a newspaper. But after about a week, everyone just forgot about him. He didn’t matter, in the grand scheme of things, not the police and not to the museum for which he worked. But he mattered to Henry, and the Toppats mattered to Henry. He’d heard of daring prison breaks, some that held fatalities on both sides. Toppats didn’t leave other Toppats behind. It just wasn’t a thing that happened.

So, hell no.

But… maybe…

Dave turned to Ellie and nodded. Ellie, smiling at his barely suppressed scowl, said, “Then you’re in?”

“Yes.”

“Ha! I knew you’d do the right thing! You’re a cool guy, Dave. Come on, let’s go talk to the Captain.” Ellie beaconed him as she walked through the shadow of Dave’s former prison, Henry’s old home.

* * * * *

It took them a while, but Henry and Howie found the airship. They poked their heads over the ridge, only to find it swarming with military. Henry sighed. “I was _hoping_ to maybe grab a car or something, take my computer with me. But that’s not happening any time soon.”

Howie frowned. “We should just get ta the rocket, then?”

“Since we can’t take on an entire shipment of the whole airship division, yes.” Henry growled and bowed his head. “How did this even _happen?_ They can’t arrest us without proper cause. They _have_ no proper cause.”

Howie wrinkled his eyebrows. “Did someone sneak onto the ship an’ steal some evidence? Like a record of some of our heists.”

“That’s insane. No one could sneak onto the ship and just as easily escape. Not with people on cameras and blocking entrances.” Henry sighed and climbed back down the slightly less steep slope of the valley. “Once we get far enough away, I’ll use my wings and fly us to where we need to go.”

“Ya sure you could hold both of us an’ not run out of charge?”

“Howie, you’re not _that_ heavy.” Henry led their walk.

“Henry, Ah’m almost as tall as you and Ah ain’t a beanstalk.” He let out a quiet sigh. “But Ah s’ppose if we have no other choice, sure. Jus’ don’t overwork yerself.” The man jolted. “Wait. Do ya have yer charger?”

“Yeah,” Henry responded. The cyborg hummed in thought. “I wonder. Would they have taken the cord with them or just let me slowly die?”

Howie scowled at the foliage ahead of them. “Knowin’ what they think a’ _criminal scum_ like us, the latter.”

Henry shook his head. “The moment I found out the _scum_ that did this to us, we’re going to have a talk.”

…

Howie started to speak, but Henry cut him off. “And it’s not about Dave. Them somehow finding him or otherwise. If they had a way or desire to find him, they would’ve months ago.”

“Alright. If ya say so.”

Henry nodded but said nothing. _Well, he wasn’t going to be seeing Dave after the rocket launch, anyway. But that doesn’t mean he should–or wanted to–bad mouth him. He was a good man who didn’t deserve needless blame and hate._

Henry half-wondered how the ground team was going to get to the Dogobogo Jungle Base so quickly. After an entire day of walking and then the worst sleep Henry ever had being tucked into the foliage, they knew they were far enough away to not be spotted. This was especially true if they knew the two weren’t stupid enough to go to the airship!

…also, they were hiding when the helicopters flew over in the night.

After a breakfast of water from the vest, Henry’s wings flipped out, thankfully whipping through the slits in his jacket rather than shredding it. The jets on his wings growled to life and he grabbed onto Howie, who held on tight right back.

Then, they were in the air.

Henry and Howie were flying low over the trees at first. At first, Henry was paranoid about being picked up by a helicopter. But, as they were too far away to _see_ any helicopters, Henry pulled up his flight high above the ground. Howie, eyes shut tight, squeaked something that Henry didn’t hear. Though, Henry could guess it was something about how high up they were or how fast they were going. Henry liked Howie quite a bit, but he wasn’t slowing down or going lower. In fact, Henry’s turn widened with speed as he turned South.

Henry was quite tired after a few hours of flight. Howie was, too, and his grip had started to slack. Thankfully, Henry’s left arm didn’t know what exhaustion was and stayed under the man, even when Henry’s other arm felt like it was about to fall off.

Scrubby grassland dotted with trees and wrinkled with hills steep and gradual rushed under them. In the distance, Henry spotted a train stopped near the mountain with a cluster of trucks flanking it. The sun was dipping toward the horizon, but it had not yet made it there. Good.

Henry landed by a cluster of trees near the edge of a forest, dropping Howie soundly on his feet. His wings immediately folded back into his spine and Henry leaned on the tree for support. Howie did the same. “Jesus, Henry. How about next time I can be strapped to a parachute or something and we can fly off like a jet ski?”

Henry sighed, too tired to argue. “Well, we better meet up with the ground team.”

Howie nodded and pushed himself off the tree. “Alright, then. Let’s get goin’.”

Henry groaned as he had to leave the rough bark of the tree but managed to start walking. As he started walking with Howie by his side, he grew comfortable enough to keep walking. If he sat down now, he wouldn’t get back up. That was a _fact._ Another fact was that they were gaining on the vehicles and the two men loading up the last of the boxes.

One of them perked up and yelled, “Hey! We got a couple of people approaching!”

Howie held up his arm. “Wait, wait! Don’t shoot!”

Henry and Howie stopped near the trucks, now holding their hands up as other Toppats came to greet them. Henry said, “We’re from the airship division. Got arrested. I’m Henry Stickmin, this is Howie Howitzer.”

“Henry?” one of the guards repeated, raising his eyebrows. This one had a green hat. “The chief’s son? Weapons down! They’re friends! What happened to the airship?”

Henry lowered his hands. “Someone must’ve found some evidence against us and brought it to the government. The ship’s been impounded, everyone else was arrested. Howie and I managed to escape, though the actual escape almost killed us.”

Howie chipped in, “Can Ah complain about ma arm?”

“Later.”

“Alright.”

Henry went on, “The chief and his right hand are gone, too. But I didn’t see Sven on board. Did they arrest him?”

“No one’s been out here, Henry,” the green hat man said. “Sven’s at the ship, along with most of the ground and the entire sea division. A few people from the air division are there, too. We’re the last caravan.”

Henry smiled. “Can we get on the train, please?”

“Yeah, of course! Come on, guys, let’s get out of here!” the green hat one yelled and made his way back onto the train. Henry and Howie were shown some seats a few train cars forward, just before the cart holding all the Clan’s money. Or, at least most of it, right?

Henry sighed and rested his head against the seat as soon as they sat down. Howie stretched and went limp. “Aaaah, let’s never do that again.”

“No problem.”

“Heh.”

The train started off. First stop: rocket. Second stop: whatever prison that was foolish enough to accept his parents.

When they got there, the green hat guy woke them up and then left. Henry and Howie emerged to find an entire station built around them with a few buildings and train tracks cut straight through the mountain. The real attention grabber was not the buildings, some strangled by ivy. Before them, towering above them all, was a _rocket_. Oblong and round like a pill, decorated with windows and paint and the Toppat logo on either side, it stood tall above them. The tip was overly fancy as if someone had cut the top of the White House off and set it on top. Three giant boosters clung to the sides. Sprouting from the ground up high and parallel to the rocket was a ladder and walkway that would guide them onto the ship itself.

Outside, cargo from the train was unloaded. Then, it was loaded onto trucks. Despite their exhaustion, Henry and Howie helped with the unloading and loading. It was nice, menial work. It was heavy and took a lot of energy, but it was mindless concentration. Work without a need to think on anything but the current objective and not dropping it.

No one stayed in the gargantuan storage unit for long. It was dark outside, as the sun was now almost completely below the horizon. It was time for sleep. They did not sleep in the comfort of beds and small rooms like the airship, and instead all shared a giant auditorium-esc room. But it was temporary. Tomorrow was the day of the launch. This place was nothing permanent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, look! A train!
> 
> Merry Christmas~!


	16. My Kingdom for a Ship (3/5)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired Endings: TK, TR/PP

# Chapter Three

_Redemption and Rule Breaking_

Henry and Ellie were a fantastic team, and it wasn’t long at all before the distrust that was shifted in Ellie’s direction waned again. She was otherwise staying firmly in low-risk missions, but despite her previous betrayal, her skills were worth the reinstatement into Henry’s team. That and their luck “mysteriously” returned in stride. Weird how Ellie’s information was turning out to be poisonous for the government. Probably how she was staying low and someone was trying to screw her over. That was a great excuse… to a point.

“Two months into not showing up with anything–actually, showing up with _worse_ than nothing–and they _just now_ discovered you’re on our team, now?” Henry prompted, leaning back against the wall with one shoeless foot on the bed.

Ellie, sitting in Henry’s chair as “ladies first” apparently applied to furniture now, took a sip of her orange smoothie. “Yeah. Oh, man, the gov’s mad at me. Wonder what I’ll do.”

Henry shook his head with a dramatic sigh, moving the few ounces of the spiked drink. “Hmm… well, I dunno. Maybe you should hide somewhere in the sky. I heard they don’t check there.”

“Pfft. Yeah. They make _other_ people do that. Dave~! If you don’t want any, I have some plain strawberry sherbet with me.”

Dave, sitting quietly on the other bed, a half-melted strawberry smoothie untouched in his hands, jolted. “Huh? Oh, no, it’s fine.” He took a sip, though Henry doubted he drank any of it.

Henry asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Just… it’s getting close. It’s November thirtieth. Isn’t tomorrow December First? Weren’t you doing your ‘winter cleaning’ before Christmas?” Dave asked.

Henry and Ellie looked at each other. _No prisoners were going to space._ Henry nodded and sat up straight. “Yeah. Yeah, actually. But you won’t be here by then, most likely. I mean, Dad wasn’t thrilled about the idea of recruiting you, but we’ve let it simmer for a few months, as long as he remembered it. Which, knowing my dad, he remembered it because its possible future trouble.”

Dave nodded slowly. “Yeah. Okay. Just… I have a feeling things are going to change, you know?”

“Definitely. By Christmas, _everything_ will be different,” Henry hummed. “And… are you still serious about considering the Toppat Clan or do you want to leave? We have a backup plan to get you out of here either way, just in case. A few, actually.”

“My life’s never going to be the same,” Dave all but muttered. “And if I can get screwed over so much on the right side of the law, and you two are here… maybe my place is on the other side of it. But I do miss Red Mesa, at least a little.”

Ellie sighed and set down her drink. “Dave, I know it’s been tough on you. From what I heard from Jake you were a good person. And from what I know now, that’s true.”

“So, we can take you back, and if Dad thinks it’s okay, we can meet back up with you,” Henry offered.

Dave smiled, though the shadows under his eyes gnawed at the sincerity of the action. “Thanks. You’re risking a lot for me, you know.” He took a sip of his partially solid drink. “So, it means a lot. …you know, I realized that you’ve done so much for me, but I haven’t returned it. You’re both working people, and I eat up a lot of time you have to sleep. And this last dangerous mission… what can I do to make it up to you?”

Henry hummed in thought. “I don’t suppose you’d be able to help me liberate a few more gems from another museum.”

Dave raised an eyebrow at him.

Henry chuckled. “I know, I’m kidding. Uhhh… can’t really think of anything? Ellie?”

Ellie shrugged.

“We’ll tell you if we think of something. How about that?” Henry prompted.

“Sure.”

“Now, for tonight, let’s do something fun. Know any good card games?”

* * * * *

Henry met up with Howie as he made his way down one of the halls, presumably to meet up with his partner. He was busy today after all. This was their last day before preparations on the ship needed to be done in earnest. “Howie?”

“Hmm?” Howie stopped and looked back at him.

“I need a favor of you,” Henry stated, straight to the point, his words quiet.

Howie’s eyebrows furrowed. “O… kay?”

“So, I was casually spying on my parents, and I found out they’re not going to be giving a certain someone the chance of living out the rest of his days.”

Howie raised his eyebrows. “Really? An’ how did ya do that?”

“Vents,” Henry responded with a flippant wave of his hand. “Anyway, yesterday I planned a heist with Ellie just a half hour before someone is supposed to take Dave out. I just need someone to take over the job–volunteer, take it off someone’s hands, whatever–and take him to the escape pod Ellie and I will be in near the Brig, on the other side of the Vault. Shouldn’t be too long a walk, and it is a little out of the way, but no one should be there since there’s going to be a Clan-wide meeting going on fifteen minutes after someone evacuates Dave’s cell. I was wondering if that someone could be you.”

“Yer gonna…? Really? Ya know how deep the shit you’ll be in if someone catches ya?” Howie hissed under his breath, struggling to take a neutral tone. “After that stunt with Ellie a few months ago?”

“Yes,” said Henry. “I said that I would help him.”

“Li’l buddy, your word ain’t worth more than yer life.”

“It’s not gonna _be_ my life,” Henry reassured him. “We have it all planned out. Shouldn’t take any longer than a regular heist. We’ll swipe a few things from a jewelry store or something and be quick about coming back. If we don’t get very much, we’ll say it was poor luck or we were distracted or something. But we’ll have something to put in the Vault. If you don’t want to, I’ll find someone else, it’s fine.”

Howie immediately shook his head. “No way in hell, li’l buddy. If you tell _anyone_ else, they’ll go straight to yer parents. Cool Katie’ll do it for the sake of getting rid of the prisoner. What will happen when they go looking for him?”

“They won’t. Howie, if you tossed someone off this ship, would _you_ go looking for them? When Dad Reginald overthrew Terrence, no one went looking for his body,” Henry pointed out. “I would think a former chief would be more important than a former cop.”

Howie sighed and shook his head. “This is absolute suicide. There’s no way this will end well. But… Ah can’t abandon ya, not when yer this intent on blowing yerself up.”

A grin spread across Henry’s features. “So…?”

“Yes. Ah’ll do it.”

“Tell me when you’re in place, okay? Ellie and I will have been ‘gone’ for thirty minutes by the time you need to toss him.”

“Will do.”

Henry stood close to the window of the escape pod, clutching his phone tight. A backpack was slung over one shoulder and he looked outside semi-constantly. “Any second, now,” Henry breathed.

“Ooooh, I’m getting a little jittery!” Ellie giggled. “This is way more dangerous than our usual missions~!”

“Exactly.” Henry looked back at her. “So, we need to be seriously careful.” A smile spread across is features. “But when we pull this off, it will be _legendary._ Secret, but legendary.” He looked back outside and sucked in his breath. Howie walked down the hall, eyes darting from shadow to shadow. Dave, a black jacket over his uniform and a black top hat on his head, followed close to heel. Henry opened the door to the pod when they got close. Both men in the hallway jumped and bristled.

Howie sighed and put a hand to his heart. “Ya nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“But I didn’t! Now, come on, hurry! Howie, get to the Bridge. The announcement should start any minute, now.”

“Got it.” Howie immediately turned and rushed down the corridor.

Dave walked into the pod and sat down in the empty seat between Henry and Ellie. As the escape pod had only three seats, that was inevitable. He took a shaky breath and strapped himself in. “Yeah, this is fine. We’re totally okay.”

Henry shut the door and tapped a few buttons. He handed the backpack to Dave and sat down. “That has some traveling food, money, and everything left of what they took off you when you were captured. We’ll get you a phone once we land, but Ellie and I can’t stay for long, okay?”

Dave clutched the backpack close and nodded. “Got it. Will… will I be able to talk to either of you again?”

“Definitely! Yeah, Ellie left her nametag and a code in there, so if you’re on social media or Discord or something, you can talk to her, and then me. Heck, maybe we can invite over Charles, if you want to meet him.”

“…that sounds nice. He’s your military friend, right?”

“Yep!”

Henry looked out the window at the bright blue sky. They weren’t _too_ far from New Mexico, so the trip only took about half an hour. When they landed, they walked straight into town and found a mobile phone store.

“Heyyy! What kind of case do you want?” Ellie asked, holding up a few phone cases that matched the phone Dave picked out. As it was a more expensive phone, he’d needed a little more motivation from Henry to take it.

“Umm… The navy blue one?” Dave prompted. “Er–navy blue. Yes.”

“Glittery, water, or plain?” Ellie asked, shuffling through the armful of cases she’d found.

“…water.”

“Cool! Here you go.” She tossed a thick phone case full of glitter water at Dave to catch and went back to put the phone cases away.

“So,” Henry chipped in, looking at the phone. “–you’re number’s 202-555-0111. Your old phone service got cut, so that phone number’s a bust. I already added Ellie and I as well as Charles and transferred all your data. So, all your old contacts and notes and whatever should be there. Also, you got Discord, now.” He lowered his voice. “Password’s 867728, but you can change it whenever. It’s ‘TOPPAT’ on the keypad.”

Dave scrolled through his phone. Ellie’s icon was a rose, Henry’s was a blue hat, and Charles’ was a helicopter, but otherwise the phone was just the same as he’d left it. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. “Thanks, Henry, Ellie. This… is way more than I could ask for.”

“No problem!” Henry hummed. “Just remember to talk to us, okay? Aaaaaand your friend group might not like me, so don’t tell them I got you a phone… or anything. Okay?”

“Definitely.”

“Now, we gotta go. Talk to you later?”

“Talk to you later!” Dave waved at them as they walked off. Henry ran back to pay for the phone case despite Dave’s complaints and ran off with Ellie, who said her own goodbyes.

Ellie asked, “So, where to now?”

“Wanna rob a bank?”

“…eh, sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Escaping the ~~Prison~~ Airship!
> 
> And then [Ellie and Henry robbed a bank.](https://youtu.be/qVvfBV_fvzU) ( _Give Jolibe some love! <3)_


	17. Protagonists and Heroes (3/4)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired endings: VH, T4L

# Chapter Three

_Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night._

It didn’t take long to learn of what Henry did. Katie’s probing didn’t last long; Henry didn’t want to hide it. He’d been hiding too much for too long, after all. The consequences had finally caught up to him. Dad Reginald apparently felt any punishment inappropriate, the consequences of his actions being punishment enough. Heh. Weirdly, even when Henry admitted what he did, Katie didn’t treat him with distain. Rather, she gave him a tight hug and a “I get it, Stupid. I’m not mad at you.” Wallace scoffed and went on about how he “knew it,” how he knew something was going on. But when Henry didn’t react the way he wanted, he just got frustrated. Being in the Warehouse, Katie took attention to this and wrung the man twice her age without putting a finger on him.

Months passed and, though Henry felt no better, he _had_ finally managed to look people in the eyes again, and he did laugh at a joke Howie made and he didn’t get sick after eating, so he regained the weight he’d lost. And, after a few weeks, he finally managed to get back on Discord. If he faced a lashing, so be it. It was better than leaving on the terms that they did. Though, almost anything was better than leaving on the terms that they did.

In the private chat between him and Charles, Charles left a few messages. “Hey, Henry? I’m sorry about what I said, I was being brutal.”

“You’re my friend and I shouldn’t have said those things about you.”

“I don’t like your family, and I’m standing by that. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like you.”

“As a friend or otherwise.”

“Wait that was rude, I’m so sorry.”

“The part about not liking your family.”

“I’m not going to talk anymore. ;-;”

Henry smiled a little at that. Classic, good ol’ Charles. “Thanks, Charles. You don’t have to apologize, I totally deserved it.”

“It’s fine about the family thing. Since I kind of knew that already.”

“I mean, I’d return it, but you have pretty chill parents.”

“You can talk, btw.”

But, though still barely healing, Henry had a job to do. The rocket plan was squarely set, and they were approaching the deadline fast. Henry was itching to get this started. He had been excited for it for a long time, but dreading it as well because of

Well, Henry was on shipment duty, which was a fairly important job, he couldn’t deny that. Although extraordinarily boring–patrolling the diameter of the launch sight and spotting enemies sounded _way_ more fun–it was important, and Henry was trusted with it. He was a trusted and high-ranking member, and if his contributions in the meetings didn’t count for anything, the overseeing of this part of the operation proved it.

The airship was the first to arrive and drop them all off. The Sea Division was meeting up with the Ground Division and they were going to arrive together. So, they spent a few days preparing the place and waiting for the last touches to be placed on the rocket. Still, Henry couldn’t shake off the bad feeling he had. Howie called it nerves, Henry called it a hunch. Charles hadn’t talked to him in days and neither did Ellie. Sporadically, Ellie would respond to his texts with a “Family stuff, I guess.” Charles had to be at some government camp waiting to pounce and stop them from flying off.

“Dad?” Henry prompted as he caught up to him. Dad Reginald and Dad Right had been in the control tower most of the day, while Henry finished with the unloading of the train. Stars glimmered in the night sky.

“Yes, Henry?”

“I… have a really bad feeling about this,” Henry admitted. “Things are going off very smoothly. I haven’t talked to Charles in _days_.”

Dad Reginald narrowed his eyes and hummed. “Things have been going well.”

“It’s not just nerves,” Henry added quickly. “I seriously think something’s going to go wrong.”

“No, no, I’m not doubting you,” Dad Reginald responded. “It’s good to listen to your instincts. It’s how you act on them that’s the real test. But I will consider this.”

“The launch is tomorrow,” Henry pointed out.

“Yes, it is,” Dad Reginald agreed.

“I would really like to check on this.”

“No, that’s not a good idea. We can’t risk anything happening now. If you _are_ correct and there _is_ a danger out there, you could get hurt. That would do no one any good.”

Henry growl-sighed. Of _course_ Dad Reginald would find a way to use Henry’s own words against him. “That’s true. Just… just be careful, okay, Dad?”

“Definitely. You, too, Henry. I don’t want to see anything dramatic from you.”

“I’m not _dramatic_ ,” Henry defended.

“Oh, you can be quite dramatic, especially when you put your mind to something absolutely insane.”

“Oh, really? When?”

“When you stole the Tunisian Diamond, you blew up the museum, or ended up leading someone else to do so.”

“Okay, well, that wasn’t my fault.”

“You went out on a simple, safe, solitary mission to check up on some contacts in Alaska and got captured by the Wall.”

“…well, they would’ve captured me, anyway.”

“When you were a kid, you tried chasing after some boys who’d stolen your backpack and ended up injuring your friend after a ‘high speed chase’ on your scooter.”

“Dad, I was _eleven!_ ”

“And you haven’t changed.”

Henry puffed, “You’re the same way, you know.”

“Oh, _really?_ ”

“Yeah. I get arrested once and steal a diamond and you keep me in the airship doing _baby stuff_ for weeks afterward. _Weeks!_ ”

“You nearly died stealing said diamond!”

“And trouble found me anyway.”

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s true, though.”

“Get dinner and go to bed. We have a big day tomorrow!”

_We have a big day tomorrow!_

Dad Reginald was right, tomorrow–today–was a very important day. They were going to make _history_. Still, Henry couldn’t shake off this feeling. He texted Ellie and Charles one last time but got no response from either of them. God, he was worrying about the rocket _and_ his best friends both vanishing–or _not_ vanishing–from the face of the Earth, for different reasons. Howie and Katie were right. He needed to calm down. There was no way Henry was going to get through this worrying so much.

Henry perked up as his phone buzzed. He checked it, finding a text. _Ellie._ “ _Hey, Henry? Have a minute?_ ”

Henry glanced around. Well… technically? “ _Yeah, sure._ ”

“ _Can I call?_ ”

“ _Yeah._ ”

The phone immediately rang. “Hello?”

“ _Henry, I’m sorry I haven’t really been talking to you very much over the last couple of days,_ ” Ellie began. “ _But Charles is really busy and I’m with him, actually. Sorta._ ”

“You are? Where are you? Is everything okay?”

“ _Yeah, everything’s fine. Listen, Henry, I’m supposed to be with Charles, just like I told you, but I slipped away for a little while. We’re, uh… well, it might take me longer than a little while to get back to him._ ”

“What? Why?”

“ _Because I heard some stuff was going down in the jungle and decided to chase after it while Charles’ back was turned. Don’t worry, I told him I’d be fine and back in a few days._ ”

Henry’s breath caught in his throat. “You’re in the jungle?” he asked, trying his best to sound casual. “Uh, where? What have you heard?”

“ _The, uh… Dogobogo Jungle,_ ” she answered. “ _Yeah, it’s crazy. I heard there was some big operation, and I was wondering if it had something to do with the Toppats._ ”

“And if it did, why would you ask me?”

“ _I dunno, I thought you’d tell me._ ”

“Ellie, I live on an _airship_. I travel the world. Why the heck would we stay in one place for longer than a few hours? We only stop if there’s some serious maintenance and I haven’t seen anything like that in a good six years.”

“ _Oh. Okay. That, um… that makes sense. That makes a lot of sense, actually._ ” There was a slight pause on the other end. “ _Soooo… hey… are you in the neighborhood?_ ”

“I mean, I can be. Why?”

“ _I might be… uh… lost._ ”

“Ellie don’t tell me…”

“ _That I got lost in the jungle? Heh. I mean, I could lie and say I didn’t?_ ”

Henry groaned and set a hand to his face. “Ellie, this isn’t a good time. I’m helping clean up the ship and get it ready for the holidays.”

“ _Clean up the ship and get it ready for the holidays? You do that?_ ”

“Well, yeah, Toppats celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah, too. We also clean up because we don’t want the place to be messy. Do you know how much work it is to clean up an _airship?_ ”

“ _You know, now that I think about it, I don’t. …so, you still in the area or…?_ ”

Henry looked back at the rocket and shuffled his feet. “…I mean, if it’s that urgent I can fly out and find you. Where are you?”

“ _Oh thank–you are a lifesaver, Henry. I’ll look up my coordinates and text them to you._ ”

“Yeah, yeah, anytime, Ellie bean,” Henry sighed. “You really put friendship to the test, did you know that?”

“ _Maybe~!_ ”

Henry’s phone beeped. He looked down at his phone screen. Yep, another text from Ellie. This one had a set of coordinates on it. “Got it. See you when I get there, okay?”

“ _See you, bestest friend in the whole world~!_ ”

_Click._

Henry rolled his eyes. Ellie got in the weirdest situations. Well, he could always take his scooter and pick her up. He technically didn’t _have_ an escape pod to fly with at the moment. So, Henry ran back to the warehouse, plucked his scooter from beside the wall, and drove out with a quick “I’ll be back in a minute!” to Sal Malone who guarded the boom barrier.

Henry glanced at the GPS on his phone semi-constantly. It wasn’t too far away, relative to Peru that was. But it would still take a few minutes to get there, even with his motorized and modified scooter. Still, he could pick her up, drop her off at a town close by, and swing back around to the launch site. At that point, she could get a ride back on a bus or maybe ask for Charles’ help, since she was still in touch with him. Though, Henry wasn’t. Guess that’s how their relationship was going to be from now on.

…unless…

Was Charles not at home or with family like he said? Was he at a government base or camp near to the launch site? Had Ellie wandered off from the base and asked for Henry’s help? Was she pulling him into a trap?

No. No, that was ridiculous. She was his best friend. He wouldn’t betray her like that.

Still, a bad feeling wriggled up inside of him. He didn’t like this, not one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friends help each other out, even if they have their differences.


	18. Is there LOVE in your Heart? (3/3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired endings: RHB, R

# Chapter 3

 _It’s too late, I’m afraid, This flower’s already_ Dead _._

**“Mission Complete.”**

Angel? He was so… _somber._

**“Avenged.”**

Not-Angel? She had uncharacteristic gentleness.

Henry… couldn’t open his eyes. He couldn’t feel the grass and leaf mold beneath him or feel the dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy. He couldn’t feel the flames crackling from the broken helicopter nor the shrapnel digging into his broken body. The acrid stench of smoke and burned flesh no longer assaulted his nostrils.

Beneath him was a smooth floor. Despite the solidity he felt beneath his fingers, all ten of them, his bones didn’t ache. “Wh…”

**“Can you open your eyes?”**

Angel. “N…”

**“Can you move?”**

Not-Angel. “Y… y… no.”

**“Yes. You can.”**

The voices intertwined. Masculine and feminine, low and high, gentle and somber.

Henry let out a tiny groan and opened his eyes. He flinched and shut them again. Sunlight burned his eyes and shown through his eyelids. He could feel dust and sand beneath him, now, and the rustling of dry flora in a gentle wind. Strength returned to his muscles and he sat up. A hand to his head, he opened his eyes into slits. The sun didn’t hurt now that he wasn’t looking directly at it.

Two figures were before him, one kneeling and the other with their hands behind their back.

Henry blinked rapidly and looked them over. The one kneeling was a man Henry’s height and build. A uniform, one of a police captain, dressed him. His badges gleamed in the sunlight. Honey brown eyes the same shade as Reginald’s watched Henry, uninterrupted by the short, bone-straight hair peeking out beneath his hat. The policewoman beside him watched Henry, too. Her thick curly hair tied back behind her head and baby blue eyes stayed half-hidden behind glasses.

Henry looked around. All around him was the scrubland he knew as his former home. In the distance was the city of Red Mesa. Out in the other end of Henry’s vision was Red Mesa Penitentiary. Behind the two figures was the Bank. “Wh… where am I?”

The woman gave him a small smile. “With us. You had a special gift, Henry. You still do.” The Not-Angel’s voice was what he heard.

Henry blinked. “I don’t understand?”

“You attracted chaos,” said the man, the Angel. “We did our best to guide you and keep you from harm.” He frowned. “But we have our limits.”

Henry’s eyebrows furrowed. “So, you mean, I’m dead?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

The man tipped his head a little. The woman stated, “You killed yourself, Henry. Don’t you remember?”

“That’s how you died,” agreed the man. “The _only_ way you could die. Suicide. Even if it was accidental. You made it your mission to kill that woman, even if you died. Well, you died.”

“There’s no changing that,” agreed the woman.

Henry’s eyes widened. “Is Charles okay?”

This elicited a few chuckles from the man and woman. The faux mirth was gone soon enough.

“…no,” said the man.

A surge of panic stirred in his chest. “Y-you mean I killed Charles, too? Both of them? Isn’t there a way to go back?”

“No.” Their voices merged again.

The woman went on independent of the man, “You made your choice, Henry. This was one choice we couldn’t reverse.” She let out a quiet, humorless laugh. “Don’t feel alone. My choice got me killed. I may not have wished for death, but I… wasn’t thinking clearly. The love of my life was dead, and I was dead set on revenge as well. Those Toppats captured me. They… eventually killed me. But all the same, I was gone.”

The man looked up at her. She shut her eyes and bowed her head. The man looked back at him and held out his hand. Henry reluctantly took it. The Angel’s hand’s skin was thick through a life of rigorous use and injury and healing. His hand was warm, not unlike the air around them or the sand underfoot.

Henry let go once he was on his feet. He glanced down and held up his left hand, smooth and made of flesh.

“I’m sorry.”

Henry turned his attention back to the couple.

“Your life was hell because of us,” admitted the man.

“Because of my need for revenge,” stated the woman.

“My inability to think ahead,” agreed the man.

Henry’s eyebrows wrinkled. “What do you mean…?” He looked between them. Man and woman, Angel and Not-Angel, police officers the both of them. His eyes widened. “Kendrick and Calla.”

The Angel, Kendrick, nodded. “Yeah. Your, eh, parents.”

Henry’s gaze darkened and he took a step back. “Dad Reginald and Dad Right are my parents. I don’t even know you guys.”

The Not-Angel, Calla, sighed. “Yeah, that’s the reaction we expected.”

“They love you,” Kendrick stated. “Even if we didn’t approve, we couldn’t do anything about that.”

Henry narrowed his eyes, falling back into his thoughts. “…how? How did you mess with my life, give me so many chances to go back and do things right?”

This coaxed a smile from the two. Calla answered, “I’m stubborn.”

“I wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Kendrick stated.

“So, of course I decided the fight the universe.”

“And _I_ decided to make a deal with it.”

Henry tipped his head. “What do you mean?”

Calla replied, “I _mean_ : we made a deal with the universe or some sort of entity or whatever. We would help you through your life, give you a fighting chance.”

Kendrick said, “In return, we’d both, um… well, make a deal with you, Henry.”

Henry raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

“It means,” said Calla, “–we want to make you a deal. We spent thirteen years keeping you alive, watching you fail and succeed, and guided you when you needed help the most. But the universe is an interesting entity neither of us can figure out.”

“You live in what’s called a _multiverse_ , Henry. Do you remember the multiverse theory?”

“Yeah,” said Henry. “It’s when someone makes a choice and a whole new universe is made where one choice was done instead of the other. Or something.”

“Yep,” responded Calla. “There are universes where you weren’t adopted by the Toppats.”

“There are universes where you didn’t meet Charles and Ellie as a child.”

“There are universes where you killed Reginald.”

“Where you defeated Right Hand Man.”

“Where you were a bounty hunter.”

“Where you helped the Toppats.”

“Where you helped Charles.”

“Where you were a recruit.”

“Where you were chief.”

Kendrick finished, “And ones where you did none of the above.”

Henry shook his head. “I don’t understand?”

Calla explained, “Henry, not every Calla and Kendrick out in the multiverse was able to get this entity or whatever to agree to guide them.”

“So,” Kendrick went on. “–we made a deal with that entity. In return for us guiding you, we ask that you guide the next Henry, one without a Calla and Kendrick looking out for them.”

Henry’s eyes went wide. “What the f…? You’re saying I should be the Angel or Not-Angel?”

Calla blinked. “Is that what you called us?”

Kendrick snorted. “She’s the Not-Angel, isn’t she?”

Henry nodded.

They burst into laughter. “Jesus _Christ!_ ” Calla huffed. “I’m a sarcastic asshat for, like, a year and I’m going to be ‘Not-Angel’ for all eternity. Thanks for that.”

“Not-Angel,” Kendrick chuckled. “You, my boy, are clever.”

Henry, not quite as amused as his birth parents, said, “What happens if I accept? What if I become the next, er… I dunno, whatever to another Henry?”

Calla shrugged. “You pick up the rules and go make sure he’s doesn’t die.”

“The rules?”

“Yes,” they responded at the same time.

Calla went on, “The rules. Rule number one: No telling whoever your guiding who or what you are. You aren’t allowed to tell them anything about yourself.”

“Rule number two:” said Kendrick. “You can’t tell them explicitly what to do, just that whatever they just did wasn’t the correct answer.”

“Rule number three: you _don’t_ let them die. You can–or sometimes have to–let other people die, but your charge is to be left alive. The only time this rule isn’t in place is in something like your and my case: you make it your mission to complete something or die trying. Then you actually die trying.”

“Rule number four: When they die, you give them the same opportunity we gave you: become a guide for someone else.”

After a moment’s pause, Henry asked, “What if I refuse?”

Kendrick said, “Then you go to the afterlife.”

Calla looked at Kendrick. “That second option might not work out the way you think it will. Charles and Ellie will be going to some place like Heaven, I guess. I don’t know. You were supposed to die at eleven years old, ‘accidentally’ murdered at the Wall for being a snarky little shit to the wrong person.”

Henry’s nonexistent blood ran cold. “You mean I’d go to Hell or something?”

“No. You’ll still meet Charles and Ellie. You might just get pulled out and forced into the job, though. You’ll be like an extra player in a football game sitting on a bench, you know? The universe entity person is _really_ weird. We haven’t quite figured them out yet, only that they’re extremely curious and _very_ bored.”

“…what about after my charge dies?”

“You’ll meet with them like we’re meeting with you and then you’ll get the same choice.”

Henry looked around at where he was. “And you guys?”

Calla said, “I dragged Kendrick into this. So, it’s his choice.”

“We’re going to go be reincarnated.” Kendrick chuckled. “I think you might recognize us, actually.”

Henry tipped his head. “Recognize you?”

“You’ll get it when you’re older.”

“I’m an adult!”

Calla snickered and sighed. “Okay, Henry. What will it be? It’s actually kinda fun being an Angel and Not-Angel.”

Henry asked, “…I’ll get to go back and meet Dad Reginald and Dad Right, right?”

“Yes. Eventually. They’re both still alive and probably will be for a while.”

“Dad Right’s alive?”

“Yeah. He’s a cyborg. So?”

Henry took a deep breath. “…what will the next Henry be like?”

Kendrick shrugged. “You’ll know it when you see him.”

Calla said, “You also get time to think so you don’t go meet Charles and Ellie pissed, and you could get there in time to say hello to your dads.”

Henry took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll do it. Then I’ll go back and meet Dad Reginald and Dad Right after. Will you guys remember us?”

Calla shook her head with a grin. “Nope. We’ll lose all our memories and go into the next universe. Hey, we might even meet you! Say hi, would you?” She winked with a playful smile. “Hon, wouldn’t it be ironic if I turned into a thief?”

“And I turned into a cop again and arrested you?”

“Unless I get away from you first!”

Henry decided to turn his gaze to the Bank. “Okay. So, am I gone yet or–?”

Henry blinked and the sun was gone. He jolted and looked around. He was back in his bedroom… his bedroom partially bare of decoration. One side was decorated with all of Howie’s stuff from many years ago. Nothing was on Henry’s, not even a poster riddled with holes or a single picture of Ellie and Charles. The two beds were made up. When Henry looked down at his hands, he found them… missing. His entire body, gone.

A little kid, eleven maybe, stood back against the wall. His shaky hands gripped a BB gun and wide blue eyes stared at the closed bedroom door. A diamond ring nested on his finger, padded by some material to make sure it didn’t fall off the small appendage. Far off, he heard a door open and booted feet shuffle.

Henry, _the entity_ , looked on.

Henry had a choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MULTIVERSE CORRECTION IN PROGRESS...
> 
> And here we find the Angel and Not Angel! Aaaaaand we find who the "entity" is! Since "Revenged" is the only ending where Henry dies, I think it's the last because of his suicidal mission. Every other time, Henry got brought back. Like, why was this any different? He could've found another way, right? The entity pulled him back from death _so many times._ Why was this any different? Well, because Henry decided his mission was more important than his life. In every other scenario, Henry has a self-preservation instinct. Even if other characters die (Charles in VH) Henry is alive in the end because he wants to be alive. In VH's case, Charles wanted Henry alive. The entity doesn't care about Charles or Ellie or literally any other character; they can all die or get left in the dust for all they care, as long as Henry's alive. (Jewel Baron, anyone?) Now, all endings are canon, but Revenged is the last because it's the _final_ end.
> 
> Hoooo this was so much fuuuun! This was actually the first ending I wrote. :3
> 
> Merry Christmas~! _First person to guess my absolute favorite fansong and an extraordinary fanfiction wins. Like a request or something, I dunno, it's the end. :,)_


	19. It Wasn't Me, I Was In Electric (4/7)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired Endings: TCW, FM

# Chapter Four

_“At Least We Have Each Other”_

They were in Texas–Adrian, to be more specific. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a car. Dave didn’t have a phone. Henry didn’t have an exorbitant amount of money on him. They had absolutely no plan outside of “Get to Red Mesa.”

Henry sat at a small table in a retro café. Souvenirs, pictures, and bright colors all competed for his attention, but he ignored them, instead favoring to stare at the salt and pepper shaker and napkin dispenser against the wall in their little booth. The homey scent of breakfast wafted up from the plate of breakfast meats, toast, and hash browns from his plate. He didn’t look up when Dave sat down, offering Henry a cup of coffee. He took the offered mug with a quiet mumble.

Dave looked around the peppy diner, the early morning bringing with it chatter from the sparce customers. “It’s a really nice day out today.”

“Yeah.”

Dave’s smile fell a little. “Henry, you need to eat. Please?”

Henry looked up upon hearing the high tone Dave’s voice had taken. He sighed and relaxed. “Yeah. Sorry, Dave. Just thinking.” He picked up his fork and poked at the eggs on his plate. “I was thinking that we could pick up a cell phone for you once we get to New Mexico. There are probably plenty of places to get them, right? To get there, we’ll need a vehicle. Or I could fly there. There’s a Greyhound bus that goes from Amarillo to Albuquerque. So, we could backtrack to Amarillo. Shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Are you sure flying is a good idea?” Dave ventured, a few bites already missing from his breakfast sandwich.

Henry shrugged. “I have it, may as well use it, right?”

“That, uh… the flying thing wasn’t very, uh… _fun_ when we left.”

“I tossed you off a plane, Dave,” Henry scoffed. “That wasn’t fun for anyone. But I caught you. If you don’t want to fly, that’s fine. We can find some other way. I’m thinking we can just hitch a ride on a bus. We might need to get to the bus first, which I’m sure we can find someone to drive us there.”

“Yeah, we can hire a driver to take us there. Won’t that be expensive? We’re out pretty much in the middle of nowhere,” Dave pointed out.

Henry shrugged. “Dave, don’t worry about that. I didn’t leave all my money at home.”

Dave nodded and looked outside, his smile returning. Henry couldn’t help his own smile. He could think about this massive change to his life in a few minutes. Henry could probably go back to the Toppats eventually. Even if he couldn’t, he’d been talking to Charles and Ellie over Discord for years, he could find a way to talk to his parents… even if Dad Reginald never texted, preferring to talk. Up until now, Dave hadn’t had _any_ of the freedoms Henry had. Just today he got to choose what he had for breakfast, something Henry known hadn’t been a real option given to him before.

So, as they ate, Henry took out his phone and looked for bus routes.

* * * * *

Sunglasses were cool, right? Henry remembered watching a movie where a superhero just had to wear glasses, and no one could tell he was a superhero. Since sunglasses made it hard to see people, it had to work, right? Also, staying away from Dave’s old place of employment was a good call.

They came upon the museum first, finding it littered with construction equipment and materials. The rubble and broken structure was gone, now. Dave left fairly quickly, leaving Henry to do the same. Neither of them said anything. What was there _to_ say, after all? Henry probably started that mess. He didn’t _want_ to bring down the entire museum. Chaos enjoyed following him, it seemed. But Henry hadn’t broken down the entire police station _or_ the penitentiary! Dave walking into the police station was a good idea, Henry even encouraged it. But _Henry_ walking into the police station?

“Dave?” Henry asked, stopping them both as the RMPD got within sight.

Dave stopped. “Hmm?”

“You go on ahead. I… would like to meet an old friend. You know, while you catch up with all yours, right?”

Dave smiled and nodded. “Oh, yeah! Yeah, of course. Uh, when do you want to meet up again?”

Henry glanced at his watch. _11:23 AM._ “In time for dinner? Six?”

“Six? Uh… yeah, sure. Sandwich City? By the city hall? I haven’t been there in _ages._ ”

“Sounds like a date!” Henry clicked his tongue and shot a few finger guns at Dave, who chuckled and grinned in response.

 _Okay, so, not really an old friend, but Henry hadn’t seen the guy for a while._ Henry found himself strolling through the neighborhood where James lived, just a few houses down from the Went household, when a sudden thought caused him to stop. _He wouldn’t want a criminal around his kids, would he?_ Henry was an escaped convict, a bad influence. James revered his children. That would be sort of wrong. Regardless, their cars weren’t there. So even were he to knock on the door, he wouldn’t get an answer.

Henry slipped around so that he was beside James’ house, out of sight of the road, and sat down. He took a deep breath and pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil from his purse hidden within his pocket, now. He didn’t have much in the way of paper, but it was one-sided so he could write on the back. He didn’t have much to say, really. Technically, he had a lot he wanted to say. But they’d discussed most of it already. They talked about their lives and families, how they were doing and what they were doing. Henry wasn’t sorry that he broke into a bank vault nor was he sorry he escaped prison or stole the Tunisian Diamond. He was just irritated and ashamed to have been _caught_. Admittedly, he did feel guilty the museum was all but flattened.

Henry ended up simply writing “-Happy Halloween!” Yeah, it was almost Halloween, wasn’t it? Just a couple of days away. He folded the paper, stuck a wad of cash inside–he could always steal some later if need be–and sealed it with some tape. It was only then he realized he’d written that down on the back of a paper he’d been using for notes back before the diamond theft. It was a list of jobs he could take, and he’d crossed out most of them. “ _Janitor_ ,” “ _Prison guard_ ,” and “ _Test subject_ ” were amongst them. “Janitor” had been scratched out and then un-scratched by scribbling out the scratch and then just re-writing it next to it. Oh, man. He never showed up for the last interview. Heh. Was it still too late?

Henry flipped it over so it wasn’t showing most of his scribbles and wrote “James Went” on it. There! He set it on the ground, propped up against the door, and strolled off. He glanced at his watch. _11:49 AM._ He frowned. Well, what now? On instinct, he checked his phone. An absurd amount of texts and missed calls from too many people to fit on the shortened alert screen met him. Oh, and an e-mail from the artist he commissioned to draw his diamond said she was finished with the picture. Nice. Well, he couldn’t ignore _Ellie_ of all people.

So, Henry ended up sitting in the air conditioning of a gas station, sitting in the corner, phone in hand. Skipping over the most recent texts–Katie, Howie, Dad Reginald, and, quite surprisingly, Dad Right, in that order–he found Ellie.

[Henry? Are you there?] 10:32 AM

[You’re still alive, right?] 10:32 AM

[Look, I know you probably don’t want to talk, but this is kinda important.] 10:33 AM

[I at least want ot know if you’re alive.] 10:34 AM

[Your parents are freaking the fuck out.] 10:34 AM

[And so is Howie and Kaite.] 10:34 AM

[I know you’re alive, somehow. So I’m not that worried.] 10:35 AM

[But I still want to make sure you’re okay.] 10:35 AM

[Like, you aren’t hurt are you?] 10:35 AM

[How’s Dave doing? I heard you took him with you.] 10:38 AM

[Actually, that’s why you left.] 10:38 AM

[Right?] 10:38 AM

[Your dads were really loosey goosey about it.] 10:39 AM

[Also, did you really beat up Wallace? He looked like he’d been thrown in a washing machine! You go, boy!] 10:40 AM

[Anyway, text me when you get to wherever you’re going.] 10:49 AM

[I won’t tell your old man if you don’t want me to.] 10:49 AM

[I didn’t tell Charles btw] 10:49 AM

[That decision’s up to you.] 10:50 AM

[Love you, Papa Hen! Talk to you in a few hours or day or something!] 10:50 AM

[Don’t make me call my Mom, she’s a bloodhound.] 10:51 AM

[I’ll do it.] 10:51 AM

Henry couldn’t help a chuckle. She _wouldn’t_. Regardless, he tapped the chat box.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

12:11 PM [Hey, Ellie! Yeah, Dave and I are alive and not hurt. We ate out at a diner this morning.]

12:12 PM [He’s chatting with some old friends. I got him a new cell phone, you know.]

12:12 PM [It’s been weirdly nice just being outside in the quiet.]

12:12 PM [You know?]

Henry had barely left the window to read over Howie’s texts when he got a response. Weird. She was usually much slower about responding.

[I didn’t take you for the “Quiet life” kind of person!] 12:14 PM

[Good to hear you’re okay, though. Thought you would be.] 12:15 PM

[How’s your first night with Dave outside the ship? >w>] 12:15 PM

12:15 PM [Not what you’re thinking. Nice, though. Neither of us had to worry about someone catching him.]

[Sure. Just like how Katie and I totally didn’t get together and she’s not considering moving into my room.] 12:16 PM

12:16 PM [wtf No, shut up. Katie’s not your type.]

[lol She isn’t, just wanted to know what you’d say.] 12:16 PM

[Anyway, your parents, Howie, and Katie are still freaking out about you. You should probably text them or something.] 12:17 PM

12:17 PM [Do I have to? Can’t you just tell them?]

[What’s wrong, dude? They can’t kill you over the phone.] 12:17 PM

12:22 PM [Yeah, but I don’t want to talk to them atm. I know they hate that I just ran off with Dave. After Dad Reg ordered Wallace to kill him! He’ll want an explanation and what am I supposed to say? That I love him? Yeah, I do, and he knows that. But he doesn’t want to believe that. So we’ll just end up arguing. I want ot have a nice day with Dave because this is my life now, I guess.]

12:23 PM [Dad Right’s just going to say the same thing but make me feel worse about it, somehow.]

12:23 PM [Howie has every right to say “I told you so.” I know he wouldn’t because he’s an awesome friend.]

12:29 PM [I’ll talk to them, okay? Just don’t expect me to be happy about it.]

[Papa Hen, I don’t expect you to do or say anything. I literally can’t because you’re just a ball of chaotic energy.] 12:30 PM

[Seriously, if I tried to predict what you’d do, you’d do the opposite. Or if I tried to reverse-psychology (or whatever it’s called) it and expect you to do the opposite, you’d either do the first thing or something completely different.] 12:30 PM

[Take your time, man.] 12:31 PM

Henry took a deep breath, smiling.

12:34 PM [Thanks, Ellie Bean. You’re literally the best.]

[I know I am. <3 Take Dave somewhere nice! ;)] 12:34 PM

[Also, 1234] 12:34 PM

12:34 PM [1234]

12:34 PM [Dammit!]

12:35 PM [I’ll tell Dave you said hi. Even if you didn’t.]

[Oh, yeah, basic manners and all that. Say hi to Dave for me!] 12:35 PM

Henry chuckled and went back. Ellie was still great. He sighed upon seeing Howie’s name. Well, no time like the present.

[Henry?] 10:30 AM

[Look, I don’t know what happened, but I have a good idea. I’m sure we can talk about this. You don’t need to throw yourself off the airship!] 10:31 AM

[Or maybe you did. Like I said, I wasn’t there.] 10:31 AM

[It’s frustrating and it’s hard. I know you love him, and I didn’t expect Wallace to pull that shit. So, I won’t say “I told you so.”] 10:32 AM

[I don’t understand why you did what you did, but I won’t question it. Because I know you have a plan, you always do.] 10:32 AM

[So, text me when you’re able to.] 10:33 AM

[Did you have dinner? Please tell me you brought money with you.] 6:30 PM

[Good night, Henry. Talk to you tomorrow?] 9:50 PM

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

[Good morning.] 7:30 AM

[Good afternoon. Are you at lunch?] 11:30 AM

[Text me when you read this, please.] 11:42 AM

Henry looked over the message history. Sooo it wasn’t that vast, thankfully. Hey, Howie didn’t say the thing, which was good because he was justified if he did say it.

12:38 PM [Hey.]

Henry considered typing more, but what would he say? “Hey” was always the best conversation starter, right?

[Henry! Jesus Christ, where’ve you been? Ellie said you’d be okay, but come on, you jumped out of the airship!] 12:39 PM

12:40 PM [I’ve been out with Dave. You know, get a phone, slept, and ate, Dave’s talking to his old friends, now. I didn’t know their numbers, but it was nothing a Google search couldn’t come up with, right?]

[You are so nonchalant about this, Henry. It’s crazy.] 12:41 PM

[Where are you, anyway?] 12:41 PM

12:41 PM [lol]

[Okay, I didn’t expect that to work, but you know I had to try, right?] 12:42 PM

12:42 PM [Ye]

[Joking aside, how are you? You got to eat, right? You’re not stranded out in the middle of nowhere? Did you get hurt?] 12:43 PM

12:43 PM [Pretty good, yes, no, and no.]

12:43 PM [I just got to talk to Ellie. I’m sorry I couldn’t talk earlier. Things are just a little stressful.

[If you said anything different, I’d’ve called bs. It has been stressful. Henry, what happened?] 12:44 PM

12:44 PM [What did Dad tell you?]

[Can I ask you first?] 12:44 PM

12:44 PM [Howie.]

[Alright. Fine.] 12:44 PM

[Benjamin and Matthew said that you stormed into the Bay yelling after Wallace. You two got in a spat and fought. Something about the prisoner and you claiming Wallace attacked him and then Wallace admitting to it. You left after that. They said Wallace told Right Hand Man you came in huffy and picked a fight with him. Technically true? At least, by what Benjamin told me. So then Wallace and Right Hand Man left. Next thing we know there’s a hole in the side of the ship. Chief comes up to me to talk about you, ask where you might go. He told me that you and Wallace had gotten into a fight, you were caught with Dave, and then when the chief ordered the prisoner off the ship, you cut a hole in the side and hopped out with Dave. Is that true?] 12:47 PM

12:48 PM [Mostly.]

[What’s your version, then?] 12:48 PM

12:52 PM [The truth is, I went to go have lunch with Dave. He was acting strange and I asked him about it. He didn’t want ot talk, but eventually told me Wallace had been attacking him again. So I confronted Wallace in the Bay, albeit loudly, and he admitted to it. He tried goading me into a fight, which didn’t work at first but then did. Not really proud of it, but I did get him. I was able to defend myself, unlike Dave because I wasn’t a prisoner. I went back to Dave after getting scolded by Dad. Wallace locked the door on me thinking he was all victorious. And I knew it was over, Dad was just going to do something stupid. Good for the Clan and it makes sense coming from his standpoint, but you know what I mean. Just not a good idea. For Dave. And I was right. Dad listened to what I had to say, and then ignored it and ordered Wallace to toss Dave off the ship. I said no and burned a hole in the ship and tossed Dave and myself out.]

[Jesus] 12:53PM

[And you survived that. How?] 12:53 PM

12:53 [I have wings.]

[Oh, right.] 12:53 PM

[Henry. I’m sorry to hear that. That’s crazy.] 12:54 PM

12:54 PM [You’re telling me.]

[I can’t make you come back. But you’re at least good on the necessities. Right? Food? Money? A place to stay?] 12:54 PM

12:55 PM [Yep, yes, yes, sort of. We stayed at a hotel last night.]

[For the love of God take care of yourself. If you want to stay gone, I understand that. Live a happy life with Dave. Get a few sheep and move to the country or stay in a cubicle or something, just whatever makes you happy and keeps you alive and off the street.] 12:55 PM

12:56 PM [Roger that!]

[Oh, and don’t forget about your robotics. Those need to be checked. I refuse to believe you manage to live out your life undetected by cops and the Toppats only to die because you forgot to recharge your spine or something.] 12:57 PM

[You have your charger, right?] 12:57 PM

[Henry. You have your charger.] 12:58 PM

[Henry, answer me right now.] 12:59 PM

[HEMRY.] 12:59 PM

1:00 PM [I can find a replacement.]

[Jesus Christ that’s your lifeline and you left it at home??] 1:00 PM

1:00 PM [Well I didn’t exactly plan to leave.]

[Where do you keep it? I’ll grab it for you and bring it to you somewhere and drop it off for you.] 1:01 PM

1:01 PM [Plugged into the wall at the foot of my bed.]

1:01 PM [But I’m not telling you where I am. Seriously.]

1:02 PM [I’ll find a replacement of some sort.]

[You can’t joke about this.] 1:03 PM

1:03 PM [I’m not joking.]

[Seriously, I can’t just let you go off and die like this, man.] 1:04 PM

[I won’t tell the chief where I met you. Promise.] 1:04 PM

1:05 PM [Howie, don’t say that.]

1:05 PM [I know that you’d do something like that for me, and I’m grateful. But you can’t just lie to Dad like that. I know you can’t, and even if you could I wouldn’t make you. I’ll find a replacement, don’t worry.]

[I’m going to worry about you and the only thing you can do about it is meet me somewhere so I can give this stupid cord to you.] 1:06 PM

1:06 PM [No.]

[Please? Henry, I support you. I may not agree with your decision, but I’ll support you. I’m glad Dave makes you happy and I hope you have a wonderful time wherever you are. But that won’t last if you die. Do you know how that would make us feel? Me? Your parents? Ellie? Charles? Dave? We care about you, Henry.] 1:08 PM

1:08 PM [Damn, didn’t know you could pull THAT card.]

[I wouldn’t if this wasn’t actually lie threatening.] 1:09 PM

1:09 PM [Fucking Christ, Howie, I know! It’s my damn body!]

1:09 PM [No, I won’t meet you, I’ll do this on my own. I’ll get another cord somewhere.]

1:10 PM [I don’t have a car and Dave doesn’t want me flying long distance and he’s right about getting spotted or falling out of the sky because I haven’t been flying for long. So, if I did meet you, it would need to be close.]

1:11 PM [I know you, Howie. You’re the kind of person who will do what is right for his friends and family. The “You hate me now, but you’ll thank me later” sort of guy and I appreciate it.]

1:11 PM [But not right now. Please.]

[Okay.] 1:12 PM

[Sorry, Henry. We’re not mad at you, you know that, right?] 1:12 PM

1:12 PM [You sure about that?]

[Positive.] 1:12 PM

1:13 PM [I’ll keep that in mind then. Thanks, Howie.]

[Anytime, Henry! Stay safe!] 1:13 PM

Henry put his phone to sleep and got up. Well… he could look at the small electronics section of the gas station. Not like he’ll get anywhere, of course. Regardless, he got up and decided to skip the rack of charger cords and go to the bathroom. When he checked the charger port in his arm, which came with a few other ports for some various reasons he didn’t know, he… was a little confused. Henry took out his phone and started looking up pictures of whatever was in his arm but honestly, it was hard. One of them looked like the end of a phone charger? Maybe? Well, he needed one of those anyway, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "That's a comfort."
> 
> Also, have a gratuitous amount of texts. Just spicing things up, don't mind me.


	20. Ohana Means Family (4/7)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired endings: TR, CG

# Chapter Four

_Pau Hana_

Henry leaned back in his chair, re-reading the last few replies.

“I’m not going to be here for a few days,” Charles admitted. “Hope that’s okay. ^^; General gave me a heads up this time, though!”

Ellie responded, “Yeah, it’s fine. I mean, even if it wasn’t, what are we gonna do?”

Henry leaned forward again. “We could always find the General and make him give us back our best pilot friend.”

“Yeah! Anarchy! >:D”

“No! Not anarchy! Look, I’ll be back in, like, two days. Starting tomorrow.”

“You aren’t gonna get captured, are you?” This was Ellie.

A bad feeling settled in Henry’s stomach. “Ellie…”

“Sorry, sorry, too soon, I know.”

Charles said, “It was kinda soon. >< They were hurt, but alive and we got them back! :D”

“But this is a serious question,” Ellie went on. “I’m not kidding. Charles, something big’s coming up.”

“Yeah, that just means I have to work harder. We all do.”

Henry grimaced. Yep, serious time. No emoticons. “What kind of big things?”

“Dunno. I just know that something big is happening,” Ellie responded. “What do you guys know?”

Henry said, “I didn’t know anything was happening. Small fish, small pond, you know.”

“Eh, technically, I’m not supposed to tell you guys,” Charles admitted. “But, since you brought it up, yeah something big is going to happen. I don’t know much yet, but I do know we’re going to need to stay on our toes.”

Ellie typed, “Ew. That’s not fun. Or maybe it will be! Hey, maybe you’ll get to go up against a whole bunch of big bads and you’ll beat them all up yourself since I’m not there to help, right?”

“Yeah! Well, not alone, the other guys will help. But, yeah, definitely! :D!”

Henry chuckled. “I’ll stay out of your way then, copter boy.”

“Hey, Henry, why don’t we go out for a movie and then spy on Charles?” Ellie asked. She quickly went on, “Out for a movie, just a movie. Totally wouldn’t go spying on you, Charles!”

Henry snickered. “Depends on what I’m doing tomorrow.”

“Guys, please don’t. If anyone catches you sneaking up on us, they’ll take it the wrong way. :(”

“Then show them these texts, duh. :P”

Henry rolled his eyes. “That’s if we get caught. Which we won’t, because we won’t be spying on you. Right, Ellie?”

“Oh, yeah, definitely. Movie night. If you can come.”

“Right, yeah, might not be able to.” Henry narrowed his eyes in thought. What was he doing for the next couple of days…? Could he fit in time to spy on Charles again or make time for a “solo mission” or something of the like? Eh, he wasn’t going on any missions, though. Right. Chief’s orders, which Henry ruefully asked him to make. Could’ve kept his mouth shut and delt with it himself but no-o.

“Anywayz, thanks guys! :) I’ll talk to you guys in a few days!”

“G’night copter boi!”

“Night, Charlie, Ellie bean.”

“Night to you, too, Henny~!”

Henry shut his laptop and pulled himself up. Well, with the lack of missions, he wasn’t as tired. So maybe he’d get to talk to Dave a little more tonight or have half a chance at sparring.

Henry swirled the last sip of water in his cup as he sat in the breakroom looking at his phone. He glanced at the time and drank the last of the water. Well, he still had about an hour until his next meeting.

“Howdy, Henry!”

Henry looked up, startled. “Uh… hi?”

Howie blinked and then chuckled. “Oh, right, wrong greetin’. You’ve been… less busy of late.” He sat down beside him. “Is somethin’ wrong?”

Henry shook his head. “Meh, nothing really. Just taking a break from going out for a little while until I can sort out my thoughts. It’s fine. What about you? Something wrong?”

“Me? Oh, no. Just a might worried. You’re always one to nose his way into the front lines whenever possible ’sall. Ya’ve been in this airship fer two weeks straight. Ah saw ya leave _once_. So, Katie and I were wonderin’ if ya wanted to go out with us tonight.”

“Go out where?”

“We were just gonna look at the stars,” Howie responded with a light shrug. “Tonight, after yer done with whatever ya do aft’r dinner, want to come stargazing with us? Katie’s startin’ ta get the hang of astronomy and really wants to show us.”

Henry hummed and shrugged. “Yeah, sure. I normally talk to Ellie and Charles after dinner, but after that, yeah.”

Ellie wasn’t on Discord for very long. “No, I got to do these stupid exercises, then I’m calling home. Sorry I can’t be on long tonight. Be here when Charles comes back tho, k?”

“Yep! I will be here,” Henry claimed. A few bigger missions were being planned soon, but he wasn’t going to be part of them. So, that was good.

Henry said his goodbye and left his bedroom door. Howie and Katie, both hatless and in their street clothes as well, made their way down the semi-dark, speaking in hushed tones. Upon seeing him, they waved. Henry strolled up to them. “Hey!” he whispered. “So, what have you got for us today, Katie?”

“Here! Come on!” Katie led them down to one of the pods. “There’s this place in the desert where you can see _forever_ into the sky.”

Henry climbed in and buckled himself into the pod. “Yeah. Lack of clouds and light pollution can do that.” _Wouldn’t it be great if he could find a way to bring Dave out on a night while over the desert? No clouds, no light pollution. Just stars and chilly night air unlike the stuffiness of the Brig or his own cozy room._ “So, what kind of stars are we going to see?”

“Well, it’s early November. So, Pisces, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Phoenix, and Hydra are a few of the constellations,” Katie explained. “I’ll point them out once we get there.”

The pod landed out in the shrubland. Lights from the small city glowed bright enough to be seen, but not enough to shine off the dusty metal of the two four-wheelers waiting in the bushes. Katie hopped on the left one, its color washed into nothingness in the cold moon’s light. Henry hopped on the second, allowing Howie in behind him. Katie started them off into the desert, phone with some sort of navigational device on it in one hand.

Howie craned his neck as he looked ahead. “Uuh… not ta criticize, but ain’t we doin’ this in the middle a’ nowhere?”

Katie squinted ahead, shutting off her phone to take away any excess light to her eyes. “Oh! …meh, that shouldn’t matter. It’s a small building in the middle of nowhere, probably no one even in it, especially not in the middle of the night. We’ll just stay away.”

Henry, spotting the small thing, chipped in, “Did you look up the place where we were going?”

“Yes! Well, I did, but it didn’t say anything about an active _anything_. If anything, the place is just a spooky abandoned alien bunker or something.”

Henry frowned but said nothing further. Why was he even being so prickly? Katie was right; if this place _was_ active, they’d know by now–especially as they got close. As Howie and Katie didn’t seem to be as on edge as Henry, he waved them down so he could go first. Howie got off once stopped and stood by Katie. Henry drove forward, one hand close to a weapon hidden in the small of his back, eyes darting across the landscape. He stopped a few yards away from the building. Nothing moved, no people nor machines, nothing. There weren’t any lights coming from the far-off building and nothing occupied the road half-buried beneath sand.

Henry’s eyes narrowed and he started walking, watching the road. The road itself was pale and cracked with age and sunshine, covered in sand. Tire tracks skidded over them, disturbing the particles and creating indentions in the otherwise smooth ground. But, when Henry approached the building, there were no cars or trucks or any signs of human life. The windows were dull and no lights within. There might have been room for a garage, if whatever weirdo who made the house decided to dedicate half of it to a car. The giant shutters enveloping a third of the front wall agreed with this hypothesis.

Henry shook his head and met up with his friends. Howie asked, “What d’ya think?”

“I don’t like it,” Henry admitted. “It looks like it hasn’t been used in years, but there are tire tracks here. Someone was here, recently.”

Katie and Howie looked at each other. Howie prompted, “You, uh… wanna check it out or go somewhere else?”

Katie huffed, “I _swear_ when I looked this place up, it had been abandoned for years.”

Henry asked, “What was it?”

“Some weirdo’s shack in the middle of nowhere,” Katie claimed. “Probably an alien conspiracist who wanted to get away from civilization. Maybe someone visited last night to look at the stars. This _is_ a good place, far enough away from civilization to not have any light pollution, but close enough in case literally everything we have breaks and we need to walk across the desert on foot.”

Henry hummed. “I don’t like it. But, if there’s no one here and it _is_ just a dead hermit’s place, it might not be that bad.” He couldn’t help but feel a shameful flare of curiosity. “Though… do you know anything else? Like what might be inside?”

A grin spread across Katie’s features. “Busting into a dead guy’s house in the middle of the desert? Hell yeah!”

“A-alright!” Howie called over them. “Alright, let’s settle down, now. Are ya sure ya wanna be sniffin’ around some dead man’s abode?”

Katie nodded. “Yeah, man! This isn’t anything _crazy_. We’re not here on a heist or anything, we’re not going to be breaking into any stores.”

“It’s not like we have to worry about security,” Henry agreed, feverish with Katie’s infectious enthusiasm and the curiosity of a new sight. “Since this place isn’t owned by anyone, anymore.”

“Yeah, and it’s not like we were going to _plan_ on stealing anything,” Katie puffed. “This place has been abandoned for, like, a hundred years. It’s totally off grid and probably has nothing more than extra tin foil and a few empty cans of beans or something.”

Howie shook his head. “You watch _way_ too much sci-fi, Katie. Look, if y’all wanna go poke around in there, Ah won’t stop ya, but Ah’m not going.”

“Superstition,” Katie sighed and hopped down.

“Ah ain’t superstitious! This is just a waste a’ time!”

Henry waited for Katie to hop onto his four-wheeler before driving in for a closer look. A moment later, Howie approached as well.

The door was locked. Though, even with Henry’s lockpicking prowess, it was hard to get into. For one, the lock was incredibly rusty from time and weather, so it wasn’t just a matter of it being locked, but it being sealed shut with rust. Finally, he put away his tools and stepped back. Katie, who had been hovering over his shoulder, stepped back further. Henry raised his foot and kicked. Rusted metal clanked and whined. He kicked a second time, further denting the door and dramatically lowering the integrity of the lock and door. A third kick finally broke it open, forcing the door to scream open and drag lines into the dusty wooden floor below.

Katie ooh’d as she peeked her head into the darkness, raising her phone so that her flashlight glowed over the ancient furniture. Henry forged ahead, looking over the wrinkled walls and dusty furniture with his own light. If it wasn’t for the thick layer of dust covering every surface of the multipurpose room slightly larger than his own room, he could be convinced he had stepped foot in an antique store set-up, or just walked back in time. A cup whose black contents were no longer discernable or touched by smell sat snugly on the small table in front of the plush couch. A book sat beside it, something to do with the paranormal. A half-empty bookcase was slightly farther away, and a small bed snuggled in the other end of the room. The doorway led to a compact kitchen and dining room leading to the door to the garage. A feeling of apprehension fell over Henry as he neared the garage door.

Katie whistled. “This place is creepy,” she whispered. “So, people _do_ wander into the desert and set up a house. I wonder where he got his stuff. I didn’t exactly see a garden outside, after all. Anyway, what’s in the garage?”

“I don’t know,” Henry admitted. “I have a pretty bad feeling about it.”

Katie hummed and narrowed her eyes. “Well. What do you think this could mean, Henry?”

“I don’t know. I want to say maybe someone drove in here and planted something dangerous in the garage, but that would be insane. Who else would be going out here? Someone could also have just wandered up and decided to take something from the garage since the front door was busted. That would mean there _was_ something in here and now there isn’t. Or there wasn’t anything in here in the first place.”

Katie hummed. “Well, I don’t remember hearing about any other criminals living in this specific place, and I don’t remember any police stake-outs. This is a little far for some ruffian teenagers to go driving out to. Maybe it was just a few weirdos like us who got curious. And I’m still pretty curious about what’s in there.”

Henry sighed, “Fine, fine. I’ll open the door. Just… be ready for anything.”

“Roger that.” Katie took a step back.

Henry grabbed onto the handle of the door and pulled it open. The door creaked in protest as it was moved from its position. Light spilled into the garage empty of a car but loaded with random junk and tools. On the cement ground close to the wall was a very large crate. Henry perked up and immediately made his way over to it. The garage wasn’t very dusty; probably from whomever it was opening the garage door to let in a gust of wind and then start messing with the place. There were fingerprints and smudges in a lot of places. This crate was no exception. The crate’s locks, old but sheltered indoors out of the weather, could be picked as they were not rusted shut.

Katie got up and walked into the next room. “Hey, Howie! We found something!”

Henry paused in his work after unlocking the locks. He heard Howie say something and Katie responded with “Come _on_ , there aren’t any ghosts in here, promise!”

Henry smirked. “He’s going to get you back.”

“He’s totally superstitious, though.”

“Yeah, kind of. Not extremely, but I’m going to be very surprised if you manage to coax him in here. Can I get going?”

“Wait… ah, fine.” Katie yelled, “Fine, we’ll bring out the uber awesome not-a-ghost treasure outside ourselves!” She turned to Henry. “Open it.”

Henry pushed open the crate. A shrill wail, quiet in most circumstances but augmented by the cement interior and silence of the night, pierced the chilly air. Henry yelped and let go of the lid. The wooden construction whined as it fell forward and shut with a hard _thunk_. Still, the wail persisted. Henry bolted after Katie before the lid could fall more than a few inches.

Katie hopped onto the four-wheeler and started it as Henry darted out of the house. Howie only moved when they got close so he ran off alongside them. “That was insanely dangerous!”

“I know!” Katie all but yelled.

Henry cut in, “Don’t go to the pod. If someone finds us, they’ll just shoot us down. Head to the city.”

The growling of helicopter blades crept into existence.

Henry grumbled an obscenity as he spotted a flying vehicle bearing down on them, strangely not from the direction of the city. “Just keep going,” he growled in Katie’s ear. “We weren’t doing anything wrong. That place was abandoned and has been for years. We didn’t take anything, or even mess with the house beyond opening the crate.”

Dust bloomed ahead of them. More vehicles, sickeningly familiar ones, rolled into the desert before them, some splitting off to meet the three fleeing Toppats. The helicopter flew over them. A bright light blazed from the helicopter, sending a dazzling spotlight down on them. Their position clear, their exists blocked, and now a voice far above yelling at them to stop, Henry gave them the order to stop. Among his friends, there wasn’t a hierarchy, of course. Howie was the oldest of them, Katie was the youngest, and Henry was the most troublesome. The three weren’t even in the same jobs, so outside of Henry’s “resting period” after stealing the diamond, none of them had to work directly with one another. But Henry was a leader, one who was about to go down with this stupid boat they’d made.

As they were forced down and restrained and told their rights, Henry glared up at the sky. _They could see the stars from the damn airship.  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave Phantasomophobia to the professionals.


	21. And the Underground Will Go Empty (4/6)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired Endings: TK, GSPI

# Chapter Four

_Yours to Decide_

Henry was among the first to wake. He patrolled the sleeping room and then checked up on security. He was given confirmation from each person regarding any bumps in the night or potential threats. The night had been clean and clear. Not a government lacky in sight. Pre-cooked food was handed out to the waking Toppats and eaten in the room in which they slept. Henry was too nervous to really sit and eat, but Howie pulled him down and sat a plate of eggs, bread, and a breakfast bar on his lap. Whoever was in charge of meals was insane.

There was a shout outside calling everyone into the early dawn jungle. Thankfully, the warmth of the morning was aided in part by the gentle heat of the night and slowly rising sun. Some people stayed behind in security. Henry spotted Kayn West moving to the small building holding a boom barrier. Many others spread out to the edges of their encampment, but that was the only road in or out. The road wound into the jungle, long and wide and twisted, making it difficult to see around bends but also difficult to speed.

Henry went to the control tower where he found a familiar blonde man in a bright blue top hat. A few other people were there at the top of the tower looking over the many screens and buttons. “…afternoon,” stated Sven. “And we’ve been through this two dozen times. Please make sure this is done right.”

“Yes, sir,” said the man at the control panel whom Sven currently spoke with.

Henry asked, “Whining about people being slow again?”

Sven turned around. “What…? Henry! What are you doing here? I thought you two were arrested!”

Henry shrugged and threw a glance at Howie. “Can’t keep us down for long!” He lost his smirk. “Now, uh, I’m still on defense, right? Howie’s in the warehouse?”

“Yes, you two are,” said Sven. “We’re launching this afternoon so don’t be late. We’ve already been set back by the arrest of the airship division.”

Henry couldn’t help a bitter puff. “Sorry nearly getting shot down was an inconvenience. See you on the rocket, Sven. Chief.” Strangely, Sven didn’t have a retort.

Henry said, “Howie, guess I’ll meet you on the ship, then?”

“Guess so,” answered Howie. “Stay safe, wouldja?”

“Right back at you, Cowboy.”

Henry walked a circuit around the outside of the station, checking in on the people there and making sure none of them had fallen asleep or left their station empty. One or two jolted, surprised, at seeing him and immediately paid extra attention to their work, probably attempting to hide the fact they’d been distracted by their phones. At least, Derbert had been on his phone.

After he arrived back at Kayn’s station, he checked up on the other buildings, hands behind his back. Things were quiet, for the moment. Almost… too quiet. When were those government bastards coming back to finish them off? Were they still too busy chewing on the air Division and were afraid of choking? But that would be crazy, prioritizing _one sector_ over _the entirety of the rest of the Clan_. They had to know when the rocket was launching, it would be insane otherwise.

Henry spent the entire morning and into the afternoon fidgeting. Chief Sven called the two-hour mark over the speakers. He was now inside, ready to pilot the ship once the engine warmed up enough.

Henry sat down in the shadow of the watchtower, letting out a heavy sigh. Everything was going to plan. When was the raid? When was the government going to–

Henry’s walkie talkie hissed to life. “Hello?”

“ _Yeah, Henry?_ ” This was Burt. “ _Uh, someone’s been spotted on the premises. On your scooter. Sven’s asking you to deal with it._ ”

“Uhhh, what? I mean, sure, yeah.” Henry put away his walkie talkie and rushed out into the open. Most people were inside the rocket by now. The only ones not there were security and some last-minute checking to be sure everything was on board. Indeed, zipping through the open on Henry’s blue scooter was… someone in black. Henry narrowed his eyes. His wings popped out his spine and he rushed into the air and down to the intruder faster than he could have run. The figure barely looked back before Henry tackled him, throwing the intruder to the ground and immediately stomping on his chest to keep him down. He pulled his left hand back to strike, a rapier taking the place of his hand, and held his other before himself as a target. Henry’s scooter rushed off a few feet before falling off balance and collapsing. “Who–?” Henry started and then cut himself off.

 _Dave_ lay on the ground beneath him, staring up at him with owlish eyes.

“What the…? What are you doing here?” Henry managed to choke out. He removed his foot from the man’s chest and helped him up. The man was no longer in a security uniform, but rather a black jacket and dark pants with a white shirt underneath. He had on his security hat. A foot or so away from the scooter, a top hat had been flung from its handlebar.

Dave dusted himself off. “Well, uh… I was freed. From the airship. And, um, was offered to help take down the rest of the Toppats. I learned where you were and managed to convince everyone the rocket launch is next week.”

Henry’s eyes went wide as moons. He changed his sword back into a hand. “You did _what now?_ How did you manage that?!”

“Well, Ellie was there,” Dave explained. “Ellie knew I spent a lot of time around you, and that you knew a lot of high-ranking stuff, and thought that I would hate the Toppats enough to help knowing you weren’t with them. I lied and told her you said the Ground Division got hung up and we’d need to wait an extra week. She convinced the General this was true, and he said he’d wait for the ground forces to get here. If they invaded now while no one was here, the Toppats would figure out it was a trap, and they would run away. I-I mean, they probably figured it out by now.”

Henry shook his head. “So _that’s_ why it’s been so quiet around here. Dave, that’s _amazing!_ Thank you, man!”

Dave grinned at this. “You know, y-you told me that you would help me out, even if it got you in trouble with the Toppats. I decided I’d help you out, even if it got me in trouble with the government.” He glanced at the rocket. “So, um… I was also wondering if it would be okay for me to, uh, join the Toppats? Now that I’m not a prisoner and I committed probably treason.”

Henry snorted. “You kidding? After the stunt you pulled off? Hell yeah! Half the Toppats we have didn’t get recruited for anything as bold as _that!_ Well, I’ll need to pass it through Sven, but honestly, it’s just formality, right? So, I’m on security, funnily enough. Want to help me out?”

“O-oh! Yeah! Yeah, uh, sure.”

“Nice! Grab my scooter and follow me.” He pulled out his walkie talkie. “Hey, Burt? Just got a message. We might have the government on us soon, but not totally sure. Mind telling Sven?”

“ _Oh. Yeah, sure._ ”

Henry put his device away and, when his precious scooter was retrieved, they started to walk again. Henry quickly remembered he was tired after so much walking. So, Dave offered to him his scooter. With a wide grin, Henry hopped onto his beloved vehicle.

Henry made another circuit, faster now that he was not walking. People were still well at work since the first time he checked on him. Though, when he caught Derbert on his phone _again_ , he decided to puff a warning at him. Derbert sat up straight, nodding and shoving his phone back into his pocket.

As they made their way toward the lone road entering the area, Henry heard the speakers turn on again. “The rocket will be launching very soon. Please get onboard immediately. I will not hesitate to leave you behind.”

Henry rolled his eyes. “Good old Sven. He’s the new chief now that Dad Reginald and Dad Right are gone. Hey, Kayn!”

The guard walked back out into daylight, his white-teal top hat bright in the day and rifle in his grasp. “Here.”

“See you on the ship!”

“Alright. See you there.”

Henry watched him move before getting on his scooter. Though, he put his foot back on the ground. “Eeeeeh, I think I’ll fly up. Get a good look around. You put that top hat back on and tell anyone that asks I sent you.” He looked up to the rocket. The storage door was still open. “Drive my scooter up into storage!”

“Gotcha!” Dave traded his security cap for the black top hat and hopped onto the scooter. Henry’s wings flipped out and he leaped into the sky. He glanced back, watching the baby blue and raven’s wing black shape make its way up the ramp to storage.

Henry nodded and rushed over the trees and around the rocket. Nope, nope, nope… all clear. Everyone evacuated their places around the rocket and now the last person was climbing in. Just as Henry flew down to meet Dave in Storage–the former security guard was already almost there–he heard the distant whirring of blades. Henry turned his gaze back down the road. Helicopters buzzed in the distance, getting closer.

Henry narrowed his eyes and swooped down toward Storage. He got in just as Dave, who stopped the scooter a foot or two short of the entrance, got there. The door shut behind them. Henry’s wings flipped down. “Well, better meet the chief. You can set my scooter by that box, I’ll fetch it in a little while.”

Dave, standing awkwardly at his side now that there was a little more attention on him now than he had three minutes before, did as he was told and followed Henry through the crowd.

Suddenly, Carol cut in, “Henry? Who’s he?”

Henry put down a flinch. “Hey, Ms. Carol! Yeah, this is, um… funny story, this is Dave. He just swung by. About half an hour ago. I really gotta go meet the chief, now, but I’ll talk to you later!” Henry took Dave’s hand and turned his walk into a quick jog to the ladder that would lead them up through the engine and to the staircase. They had just gotten out the door when they ran into Howie.

Howie started. “Henry! Just who Ah was… uh…?” His gaze turned on Dave.

Henry explained, “This is Dave. You remember him.” Dave waved.

“Well, yes, Ah remember him. Why is he here. Why are ya here, Dave?”

The former security guard said, “I… wanted to join the Toppats. Henry said I could. Well, that he’ll talk to Sven.”

“Ya what now?” Howie turned on Henry. “Yer serious.”

“Very.”

“Jesus,” Howie mumbled and sighed. “Welp. Ah guess an early ‘welcome aboard’ is due, then?” He held out his hand for Dave to take. A little reluctant at first, Dave accepted.

“Thank you, Howie.”

Henry chipped in, “So, Sven’s in the cockpit, right?”

“Yes, Ah believe so.”

The rocket shuddered.

Howie confirmed, “Yeah, he is.”

Henry nodded. “Good. I need to talk to him, so let’s just… wait by that staircase? Meet him after!”

The trio ran around to the staircase that would lead them up, passing portraits of chiefs past. As they sat down, Henry’s gaze fell over two in particular. One was of a man with a black top hat, wider near the hatband, holding a golden pistol and winking into the camera with pretty green eyes and a smirk. Across the doorway on the wall was a portrait of a man with two top hats, one stormy gray and one raven black, wider at the hatband than the crown. He held straight one end of his curled chocolate brown mustache and grinned into the camera, light brown eyes glimmering in cocky excitement. A heaviness weighed in Henry’s heart. He set his gaze. No. No, he couldn’t be mopey. Dad Reginald was gone, but not for long. They would get into orbit and Henry would go back to Earth and find them. Then, he’d _personally_ track down whatever fool thought they could get away with this and make them sorry.

The Toppat Clan was going to be a household name to be in awe and in fear.

The shaking of the rocket subsided. The ground stayed stable beneath them. Far off, he heard the groans and hisses of the staging process. The rockets were of no more use and would only bog them down. So, off they went. Next, they would need to set up the solar panels. No need to land to refuel. Just as long as nothing happened to the central core, they would be fine! After all, what could get through the ship to the _core_? A government prototype spaceship with a death wish?

Regardless, Henry got up and led the three into the cockpit. Sven messed with the panel for a little while longer before taking off his seatbelt. He looked back and jumped. “Huh? What are you doing in here?”

Henry stepped forward, grinning with his hands behind his back. “Hey, Sven! I wanted to say congratulations. On the ship launch. Also, getting Dave as a recruit. And to talk about the airship division.”

Sven sighed and set a hand to his head. “Before we talk about anything else, why did you bring the prisoner back?”

“He’s not a prisoner,” Henry crossed, eyebrows raised, and arms crossed. “He’s someone I’m strongly suggesting we recruit. Do you know _why_ the government was so hilariously late to the party?”

Sven narrowed his eyes. “…why?”

“Dave here–” Henry nudged the former security guard, who rubbed his arm with a quiet chuckle. “–managed to trick the government into thinking our actual launch was _next week_. He strolled into their ranks so completely trusted that the General took his lie as a truth and managed to spare us the headache of an actual attack.”

Sven glanced at Dave, his judgmental narrowed eyes softening a little. “Are you sure he’s not a government spy?”

“Absolutely positive,” Henry declared.

Sven let out a quiet sigh. “Right, right. That did help us quite a bit.” He sent a mistrustful glance at Dave. “We can allow him to stay, under surveillance, for a year. Then we can talk about full membership. Now, there is the station to be set up and the announcement ceremony.”

Henry nodded. “Yes, yes. Definitely. Thank you, Chief. Dave’s going to be a great Clan member!” He nudged the new recruit, who smiled sheepishly back. Henry’s smile fell. “Now, about the airship division. More specifically, Reginald and Right Hand Man. We need to find them as soon as possible, don’t we?”

“Yes, we will need to look for them,” Sven decided. “But the space station comes first, and then we will discuss our plans further with the elites still here.”

“Got it, Chief.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyyy good ol' Derbert on security! We missed ya, buddy! <3
> 
> But, really. Sven complained _endlessly_ about being chief. Henry already took up leadership roles and, in another timeline, was chief. So? Weeeeell, horses need to be held, because obviously, Henry is still a younger and less experienced member. Also, you know which two peeps on first on his mind, and you can't tell me Dave wasn't going to be a part of this operation.


	22. My Kingdom for a Ship (4/5)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired endings: TK, TR/PP

# Chapter Four

_Rocket Launch_

Henry took a deep breath to calm himself. Ooooookay. Today was the day. They’d been building up to this for months. Henry helped as much as he could, which was quite a bit compared to his age and experience. But he’d been learning from Dad Reginald and Dad Right as well as picking up skills from other elites and members of the Clan since he was a child. Even Carol begrudgingly admitted his input was “formidable.” It helped Henry knew more about the government and how it worked than anyone else who went to the meeting to discuss their grand plan.

Now, today was the day. Dad Reginald had a smile on his face, smug or excited or both, it was a little hard to tell. But this _was_ going to be his greatest achievement. _Space_. Henry was a little more than very excited, if he was going to be honest. Even if he was put on shipment duty. Blegh. Hopefully he’d have time to do some patrolling on defense. Defense was a much more fun job than counting boxes.

 _“Henry, ‘counting boxes’ is an extraordinarily important job,_ ” Dad Reginald had chided a few nights ago when he heard Henry’s complaint behind his back. “ _That is all our possessions, our wealth, being loaded up into the rocket. Launch is the most important part, but we simply can’t overlook any details–especially our wealth.”_

So, yeah. Walking around with a clipboard inspecting the goods being unloaded from the airship–and, that evening, the train–and making sure everything was in order as it was loaded into vehicles and driven up to the rocket was important. The Vault itself was the last to be unloaded. Henry took special care to follow _that_ up to the rocket to be organized and put away. He doubted any Toppat would dare steal from the Vault, of course. But their grandest treasures were in the Vault and making sure nothing escaped–accidentally by falling out of a box or otherwise–was a current priority. Besides, he finally got to visit the Vault inside of the rocket. As he hadn’t stepped foot in the rocket yet, he wasted no time.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get to stay long. It was late into the evening by the time everything was unloaded. So, they needed to head off to bed one last time on the ground. The next time Henry fell asleep, it would be far above the jungle, in space. _Space!_ Hey, since most everything was already packed up and now most of the preparations including the rocket itself–fuel, engine check, loading up the food and possessions still on the ground–were close to completion, Henry was given the go-ahead to check on defenses.

“How’s it looking?” Henry prompted, poking his head into the small building with a boom barrier attached blocking the only road into the launch site.

Sal Malone looked back and nodded, a rifle in his grip. “It’s all clear.”

“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

Henry hopped onto his scooter and continued his roads, inspecting the jungle and dropping in on lookouts. He caught a few people distracted–on their phones or reading or whatnot–and so he gave them a clear reminder of their jobs. Startled by his sudden appearance, they would quickly go back to work. Thankfully, it was only a few people. Regardless, he moved more slowly by their stations and checked out the jungle and kept a hand by his waist where he kept his walkie-talkie. They needed to be prepared for anything, especially since they _knew_ the government would be meeting them here. He didn’t need Charles to tell him that, though Charles did warn them he would be gone for a few days that morning, so Henry relayed the news.

Henry jumped as his walkie talkie hissed. “ _We’ve got trouble incoming!_ ” exclaimed a lookout on the other end. “ _North!_ ” Henry turned around. Indeed, the whirring of helicopter blades cut through the air. Rising from above the tree line were helicopters, at least a dozen of them. The SAM turret activated, blowing one to bits, before it could be neutralized. Henry wrinkled his nose. Ugh, they’d been counting on that. Then again, a bad feeling wormed inside of him. Charles flew a helicopter.

The boom barrier protecting the road was blown off as armored vehicles rushed down the winding road, tanks following in the distance.

Chaos, pure and loud, erupted from the launch site.

Henry sent a glance up at the highest tower, where he knew Dad Reginald and Dad Right currently wrapped up whatever they were doing. With the head start from both Ellie _and_ Charles, they were compelled to wake up earlier and get things done.

“ _The rocket is launching in thirty minutes,_ ” a female voice called, calm over the quarrel. Henry, having unsheathed a gun from its holster, smirked as he saw the panic painted over the cluster of soldiers on an armored vehicle nearby. He didn’t get to stay long before being forced to take cover. Henry dipped into the Warehouse, scurrying back to meet with some other Toppats that had evacuated every other part of the building and now searched for an opportunity to get up to the rocket.

“Henry!” Howie gasped and chuckled. “Am Ah glad ta see you!”

“Same, but let’s get to the rocket before greetings, huh?” Henry prompted and turned to the mostly closed shutter door. A tank had been crushed beneath the door, propping it open to allow a half dozen soldiers to keep them down with suppressive fire. Howie, The Witch, Mr. Goldbloom, Peanut, Mr. Thicc, and Pinkman were huddled there, some behind cover and Pinkman at the corner, ready to snipe someone that poked their head inside.

Henry crouched behind a box as he was finally spotted. They couldn’t stay here long, no way. Henry leaned out and fired off a few shots. Mr. Goldbloom spotted him and perked up. He looked over some fallen scaffolding where the Witch hid and then back to the soldiers. Some poor fool had lowered his gun near Pinkman. That one didn’t last long. The fight didn’t last much longer before a short retreat was called. They would be waiting outside, this Henry knew well. They just weren’t dumb enough to stick their heads inside any longer.

“Howie, keep going and get to the rocket,” Henry ordered. “Everyone else, too. I’m going to keep on the offense.”

“Er–ain’t that dangerous? Won’t ya miss the rocket launch?” Howie asked, his words so quick and accent thick enough to make it hard to understand his words.

Henry nodded. “Yeah, it’ll be dangerous, but I got this. Get out of here!” Henry slunk around the edge and then darted to the shutters, one shoulder nearly touching the wall. His feet touched the ground just as something exploded above him.

Henry ducked and looked up. The bridge leading into the rocket had been blown in half. Dammit! That was their best way on board! Ugh, now they’d need to find a vehicle to drive up through Storage. Wait, had anyone _been_ on the bridge? Wasn’t that the path the chief and his right hand were taking? Henry shook off the cold he felt in his veins and darted to the tower. Two steps at a time he climbed up until he got to the top, which would lead to the bridge. The tower was empty. Good timing, probably. Still, Henry climbed the ladder further and found only one person on the bridge–a soldier with a walkie talkie looking over the gap.

The man had barely turned around before Henry grabbed him by the front of the shirt and stuck a gun to his head. “Who got across?”

The soldier sputtered something close to an “I don’t know!”

“Did anyone get across?”

The soldier nodded.

“Did anyone get blown up?”

The soldier nodded and pointed to the ground. Someone he didn’t recognize was on the ground. Henry removed his gun from the man’s head and kicked him over the edge. Okay, hopefully they were already inside the rocket. Speaking of which, Henry should probably get going.

He rushed down the stairs and, a pant in his heaving breath, looked around. A few vehicles were already on the ramp. _Good_. Hopefully Howie and Ellie were among them. There was no reason to be standing around down here after all.

Henry made a break for the ramp, ducking behind the remaining cars and flitting through buildings to keep out of sight. He looked up at the ramp in time to see a helicopter fly off, a cord attached to a car sprouting from beneath it. That wasn’t a government car, obvious by its sleek frame. Dammit, they couldn’t just leave well enough alone! They were already on the ramp, that should count for something!

Henry ran up to where the passengers had fallen out and landed on the hard stone-studded dirt.

Henry’s breath caught in his throat upon seeing them.

It was easy to identify them, even with one of them missing both of his hats. Henry knelt beside them. Blood darkened the wide-brimmed hat and ginger hair of Right Hand Man as well as bloomed from his abdomen. Chief Reginald’s arm was at a weird angle and he suffered cuts from the recent ejection. Henry hooked his arm under Dad Right so that his back was against Henry’s arm and took Dad Reginald by the back of his shirt. He could see Dad Reginald’s chest move, slowly and sporadically, but it moved. He felt Dad Right’s breath on the side of his head. Well, dragging either one of the men would have been difficult, but both at the same time?

Still, Henry held on and dug his heels into the ground. He fell hard onto his back as Dad Right’s weight pressed down on him, but Henry didn’t stop for a second. Instead, he pushed back at the hard earth. When his heels hit metal, he found it a slicker substance and needed to hold onto the metal lines pushed up for a vehicle’s grip.

Car tires squealed to a halt beside him. Henry heard someone shout, but every bit of his concentration was currently on keeping himself up and moving and keeping a hold of his fathers. It was hard to feel Dad Right’s breath, but it was still there, it had to be. The wind was just making it difficult, Henry’s inability to concentrate on anything else made it hard. He was still breathing, they both were, they _had_ to be.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Henry looked up into Ellie’s vibrant eyes. “Henry! I got us a car, get _in!_ ”

Henry nodded and let go of Dad Reginald’s collar with stiff fingers. “I-I got him,” he wheezed.

Ellie looked between them. “Henry…”

“Hurry up!” Henry snapped, dragging Dad Right to the back of the jeep Ellie had hijacked.

“Just do it.” This was Howie’s voice. “Ah’ll help. You get in the car.”

Ellie nodded and hopped into the front seat. Howie helped Dad Reginald into the back, flattening the seats as he did so, and sat beside Ellie.

The door wasn’t even shut before the jeep was roaring up the ramp.

Henry turned his attention back to Dad Right. Blood slicked Henry’s arm as the man’s head wound continued to leak liquid life. First aid, right, cloth needed to stem the blood, got it. Henry cut off his sleeve and wrapped it around Dad Right’s head, tying it off under his chin. “You got that one covered, already,” Henry mumbled to the wound in the man’s abdomen, which was covered by cloth that had already been bled through. He turned his attention to Dad Reginald. Scratchy breaths still made it through his throat and his eyes were partially open, seeing nothing but open all the same. “Dad! Dad, stay awake! We-we got you!” Henry snapped his fingers in front of the man’s nose. “Just gotta stay awake, okay?” Sleeping was definitely bad. He should wake up Dad Right as well. God dammit, watching two people bleeding out at once wasn’t a good idea.

Henry shook Dad Right’s shoulder and checked his eyes. The man still didn’t wake. Ugh, but he could sleep through the apocalypse while not wounded. Albeit, it had to be somewhere safe. He wouldn’t sleep if there was even a _chance_ for trouble. And there was definitely a chance for trouble here! But the blood loss might make it hard. Still, wake up! Shit, Dad Reginald was falling asleep.

“Howie!” Henry complained, patting Dad Reginald’s uninjured shoulder and yelling at him to keep him awake. His eyes opened again a little. This time, though glazed from pain and shock, he did seem to see Henry. “Need help over here!”

“Tryin’!” Howie held onto the steering wheel so Ellie could shoot down the soldiers immediately in front of them attempting to block their path to the rocket.

Henry cursed and turned back to Dad Reginald. “Come on, stay awake! Jesus Christ, just wake up, _please_ Dad!” He shoved Dad Right again but got no response. Dad Reginald’s eyes closed again, and Henry frantically shook him, any last bits of calm he’d tried to force himself to feel now gone. “No, don’t close your eyes! Dammit, that’s not good, you’ll give yourself brain damage or something, I don’t know!”

“ _The rocket is launching now,_ ” the female voice called.

The jeep’s wheels screeched, and the car couldn’t resist a turn as they flew into the storage area. A wide berth had been made by anyone that was inside of the storage unit. The doors closed behind them. The rocket shook as it got ready to launch.

Howie and Ellie hopped out of the car. Henry gathered Dad Right in his arms. “Okay, I need one of you to help with Dad Reginald. Call the doctor!”

Howie started, “Henry, I d–”

“The fuck are you waiting for? Call the doctor!” Henry snapped. “Now!”

No one talked to him. Thankfully, the doctor and a couple of the EMTs on board looked unphased and gathered their leaders. Henry, wheezing and bloody and shaky on his feet, followed as quickly as he could.

Ellie took Henry’s clean wrist as they walked, her shoulder pressed up against him. “Hen, you need to sit down and get cleaned up.”

“I can wait,” Henry countered. “I’ll make it to the medical wing, and we can wait there.”

Howie chipped in, “Li’l buddy, at least get washed up first. It ain’t good ta be covered in blood.”

Ellie agreed, “We’ll get a fresh pair of clothes for you.”

Henry shook his head. “No, no. I’m fine. I can wait.”

“Ah’ll wait,” Howie volunteered, staggering as the rocket breeched the atmosphere. “Ah’ll wait in the medical wing and tell ya the moment somethin’ happens. Ya won’t miss a thing.”

“You look like you’re hurt,” Ellie agreed.

“I’m _not_. I’m fine. Just tired.”

“If you go to the medical wing looking like that, they’ll have to sedate you to make sure you’re telling the truth,” she pointed out, her voice stern but not in anger.

Henry wrinkled his nose and sighed. “Yeah. Howie, the _second_ something changes, tell me.”

“You got it.” Howie picked up the pace and left while Henry and Ellie took an elevator to the rocket higher up. They had to wait a while, but eventually the rocket was in space and the solar panels flared out like feathers on the wings. Henry stayed antsy all the while. _Why wasn’t Howie reporting anything?_ He didn’t voice this concern aloud. He just ran to his room and jumped into the shower. Ellie promised to grab an outfit for him, and he trusted her.

When he left, only half dry with still dripping hair, he found a message on his phone. He didn’t need to look at the text to know what it meant. It was from Howie.

Strangely, the doctor was waiting with Howie in the front room. The doctor stood up straight, his hands behind his back. Still, the hard, professional look he normally wore was only half up. Instead, his dull eyes hardly met Henry’s. Howie hunched his shoulders and looked to the curtains. “Henry,” the doctor stated.

“Are they okay?” Henry blurted out. They were very hurt, that’s why the doctor wasn’t in his best shape. He liked Dad Reginald; knew him a great leader and was reverent of the fact he’d overthrown Terrence and expanded his own reach as well as budget. Dad Reginald was smart and knew where his priorities lay, and the doctor respected him.

“No.”

“What… do you mean?” Henry asked, blank for what he should feel. Ellie intertwined her fingers with his and clutched his hand tight.

“We lost them. Both.”

“Then find them,” Henry squeaked out.

“They were gone before they got here.”

“You can fix them, though! You’re a miracle worker!” Henry argued, his voice cracking.

“I… couldn’t. They both suffered major head trauma. Right Hand Man must have died instantly, from whatever broke his neck.” The doctor’s voice was slow, but formal. He opened his mouth to speak further but shut it again.

Henry shook his head. “No, you’re not telling me the whole story. What happened? You can bring them back. You said so yourself!”

“There was nothing you or I could have done, Henry,” the doctor stated. “I would give my left kidney for that man, you know that. We tried for a while, but we couldn’t bring them back.”

“If they’d gotten here sooner, would they have survived?” Henry asked.

“No. Like I said, Right Hand Man died on impact, and Chief Reginald hardly fared any better. Even were I successful, they wouldn’t thank me. No one would, even you.”

Henry shook his head. “No… no, that can’t be right. We just got the rocket up in the air.”

“He lived long enough to board his own rocket, they both lived long enough to see it ready to launch,” the doctor offered. “Now, I understand this is very hard for you. Unfortunately, I believe anything I say will only cause more damage. I am not good with talking, so I’ve heard. But we will prepare them for cremation.”

“Can… I see them?”

“…once. That’s not unreasonable.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Hnnnnnnng-_ Trust me, I made this ending months ago. The next (last) chapter was ironically the first bit I wrote. Henry was chief in that one. I decided it'd make more sense for him to be Chief Sven's right hand.


	23. Protagonists and Heroes (4/4)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired endings: VH, T4L

# Chapter Four

_Rage, Rage, Against the Dying of the Light._

It took Henry just about an hour to drive from the launch site to the coordinates Ellie had given to him. It was off the road a little, so he had to drive into the ferns and bushes. But that was fine, he wasn’t going to freak out about some residual rain on the lush fronds brushing past his suit. He’d been in plenty dirtier places.

Henry stopped upon seeing a flash of red hair through the trees. “Hey!” He called, hopping off his scooter and walking it the rest of the way.

Ellie looked up at him as he emerged from the trees. Her eyes flicked up to his navy-blue top hat with a golden “H” on it and then back to him. She smiled and stood up. “Hey, Papa Hen! You brought your scooter? How far a drive was it?”

“Not long,” he reassured her. “The machine I took to get here couldn’t get through these trees, so I grabbed my scooter and drove up the road a while.”

Ellie smiled, though it looked a little… weird. “That… that’s good. Was it actually a flying machine or did you take your scooter from the launch site?”

Henry’s smile fell. “What… what are you talking about?”

Ellie hunched her shoulders and looked away. “Henry. I’m sorry. I just… I know that there’s a huge thing going on, and I know it’s about the Toppat Clan. I didn’t want anything to happen to you, you know?”

Henry narrowed his eyes and then gasped. “I knew it! I knew something was going to happen today!” He turned and darted to his scooter. He sucked in his breath as a body slammed into him, tossing them both to the ground. Henry spat out leaf mold and dirt as he was pressed into the ground, his hands held behind him and a knee pressing down on the small of his back. “Let go of me!” he spat.

“No,” Ellie stated, her voice forceful. “I’m not letting you go out there to get killed or arrested like the rest of them will be.”

Henry hissed, glaring back at her, “What, you think I’ll be thanking you for this?” Her hold on him was pretty strong, but she was mostly relying on bodyweight. Makes sense; she had been stagnant for a while and then went through physical therapy recently. “They’ll arrest me, too. You know that.”

“No,” Ellie said again. “I took your bounty so that _I_ could be the one to capture you. He didn’t argue when I volunteered for the job, knowing how well I know you. Then, I could talk the General into giving you a pardon. You’re a good man, Henry. I won’t see you squandering your life in a prison cell because you chose a life of crime over us.”

“I didn’t choose a life of crime over you,” Henry spat. “I chose my family over you. They’re criminals, yes, but they adopted me and saved me from a miserable existence. I would’ve fallen into crime, anyway. At least I’m safe with the–” Henry cut himself off as he rolled over. Ellie, listening to his words, gasped as she was thrown off. Henry shook her off and shoved her into the ground as he got up. He wasn’t even standing straight before she took him by the ankle and yanked back.

Maybe Henry had underestimated her. Still, he was naturally stronger than her and managed to finally pin her to the ground. “I’m going _back_ to the Toppat Clan and I’m going to tell everyone the government’s on their way,” he stated. “I don’t care what you think, _traitor_.”

Henry got to his feet, holding onto Ellie as long as he dared. Once he was up enough, she rolled forward and kicked him in the stomach.

Okay, now _that_ was a low blow.

Henry collapsed, wheezing and gasping for air. Ellie got up and brushed herself off. She spoke into a microphone, “I caught him, will need backup. Soon. Over.”

Someone said something on the other line before it cut.

Henry tried to pull himself up, but she pulled his hands behind his back again and handcuffed him. Henry… did not resist further. Instead, he stayed on the ground, struggling to regain his breath and put down the aching pain in his abdomen. “Did you really have to kick me _that_ hard?”

“I could choke you instead.”

“No, I’m good.” _Jesus Christ._ Charles was blunter about it, at least. And he didn’t try and lure Henry into a trap and arrest him. God, classic “helpless woman” strategy and he completely fell for it. Not that he thought Ellie was in any way helpless, of course. She was a more than worthy opponent for _anyone_. Even the Wall couldn’t keep her down long.

Okay, well, what now? She was watching him, knowing that he would get up or at least try another blitzkrieg move. He could unlock his handcuffs if she wasn’t watching him so closely. _God dammit._ Of everyone who could have possibly arrested him, it _had_ to be Ellie. Hmm… he could wait until “backup” arrived and begin his fight there. With more people, he could cause more confusion. He might even be able to leave Ellie’s sight.

Still… that would mean even more trouble. And they might have guns to point at him. Ellie didn’t look armed. That didn’t make her a weak target, but he’d have _something_ on her. So, Henry struggled to push himself up so he was on his knees. Ellie tensed, but made no move against him. So, he sat up straight, glowering at her. With his hands behind his back and out of sight, he could try his hand at lockpicking the handcuffs that bound him.

“You know, Henry, I’m doing you a favor,” Ellie stated. “If it wasn’t for me, you’d be stuck in prison, possibly for the rest of your life.”

“I’d rather be a prisoner like the rest of the Clan then a free man alone. They’ll just find something to charge me with later, you know, legitimate or not. I was raised a Toppat and was born to be a criminal, my kleptomania made sure of that. With you people going after the Clan like a pack of hungry dogs, do you really think they’d allow me to stay free, _if_ the General listens to you and grants me a pardon? Because, let me tell you, it’s way less than guaranteed to happen.”

Ellie no longer looked at Henry and instead stared into the trees in the direction of the road. Henry held onto the open handcuffs. “Henry, please. I’m trying to help you. It’s way better to live a clean life, I promise.”

Henry slowly rocked back onto his heels, careful to stay squatting as to show no sudden movements and minimal noise from the leaves below. “Oh, really?”

“Yes, really. In fact, I’ve met some great people as a mercenary. Bad ones, yeah. I met a bunch of bad people. But I’ve also met great people. Charles, he introduced me to his friends at base and a lot of them are good people, too. My Mom, in hindsight, was and is a wonderful person. Good people can break the law, sure, but good people can follow it.”

Henry let Ellie ramble as he crouched into a more comfortable position and then sprang, tossing the handcuffs aside. Ellie whipped around one hand on his throat and the other ripped across his abdomen. Henry let go and stumbled back into a tree, an arm over the gaping wound in his stomach. Ellie dropped the bloody knife, her eyes–once wild with shock–went wide and glassy. “Oh my God, Henry.”

She tried to step closer to him. He tore off his hat and brought out the gun hidden within. Ellie stopped in her tracks. Henry put his blood smeared hat back on and, an arm over his stomach, limped off. “Follow me,” he wheezed, “–and I won’t hesitate to fight back.”

Ellie stayed in her place.

Henry, wheezing, leaned against a lush tree. His fingers curled into his suit as he held his arm against his still bleeding wound. He’d abandoned his gun some time ago. People in military garb buzzed in the camp. Henry swallowed and looked around. There were plenty of tents and tanks and… helicopters. Yes, helicopters! And _that_ one! Henry could barely think straight, but he recognized that machine’s number. He hadn’t been around it often, but he’d ridden in that one a few times of late.

Henry pulled himself from the jungle and snuck up behind it. He looked around and sucked in his breath. A trail of red smeared over the ground and the trees he’d hit. More blood peppered the ground leading to the government vehicle. Henry gritted his teeth and turned back to the helicopter. He smeared more blood on the door as he unlocked and opened it, but only enough to let him slip inside before shutting it again.

Henry slumped down against the wall of the helicopter, tipping his head back and shutting his eyes. _Stay awake, Henry._ He swallowed and opened his eyes again. So. Just have to wait. For an indefinite time. In what _might_ be Charles’ helicopter. No, it was definitely Charles’ helicopter. It had to be. Because if it wasn’t, Henry was just some bleeding Toppat that dragged himself into a random government helicopter to die. That was the exact _opposite_ of his plan. It wasn’t the greatest plan, sure, but waiting for Charles was a good plan. Charles was reliable, he’d help Henry. Definitely. They were best friends.

He heard a muffled exclamation of surprise from outside.

The door creaked open. “Anyone in–oh my God!”

Henry tipped his head forward again and looked up at the newest person in the helicopter. “…Charles…? That you?”

“Oh my God, Henry! What happened? Wh–you’re bleeding! Just wait here!” Charles darted to the front of the helicopter. He’d barely been there for a moment before he came back, fiddling with a med kit. “Okay, let me look at this. It’s fine, I know some first aid. Ooookay, well, that’s a little bad, but stay calm. Stay awake. Look at me! Henry, can you hear me?”

Henry gritted his teeth as Charles pulled up his shirt to reveal the jagged stomach wound. He hissed a word resembling a “yes.”

“Okay. Okay, yeah, you’re hurting. This should help with the pain. Can you take this?” Charles took out a pill bottle and shook out a couple of the capsules. Henry took the provided medication immediately. God, he hated bleeding. He could barely think!

“Okay. So, uh, I need to clean this out. It might sting, but I just need to make sure it doesn’t get infected. Infections can be pretty bad, you know. And it’s not that bad, really. The blood was making it look worse. But I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Charles rambled as he cleaned out and dressed Henry’s stomach wound. Charles cut off the gauze now wrapped firmly around Henry. “There. Now. That’s that. But I still need to get you to a doctor.”

Henry shook his head. “No. No, no, no, no, no. Charles.”

“Henry, I’m not a doctor, I did everything I could, but you still need to get checked out!”

“No. Please.” Henry swallowed and shook his head. “I want to see my family. If… you bring me to the doctor here… I’ll never see them again.”

Charles immediately countered, “But if you don’t go to the doctor, you’ll die and you won’t see them, anyway!”

“We have… a doctor onboard,” Henry stated. “I trust him. Please, Charles. _Please_.”

The ace pilot groaned. “Henry, I need to… I can’t just–Henry, I need to bring you to the doctor. I know you have a doctor on your airship or something. But I can’t fly you into enemy territory like that unsanctioned!”

Henry groaned and set his head against the wall of the helicopter. “Charles…”

“Henry, it’s going to be fine,” Charles reassured him, though he wasn’t looking at Henry. “We’ll get you a doctor and have you all patched up. A-and, yeah, we’ll have to arrest you. But! But, uh, it won’t be so bad? I’ll try and find a way to help you.”

Henry eyed the first aid kit. How much would it take to overdose and die? Meh, too much for him to really think about right now.

“I can talk to the General and we’ll be able to come up with something, you know. You helped us at the airship, right? I mean, you didn’t bring down the Toppats, and you kind of _were_ one, but you did give us some very valuable info, right?”

Henry didn’t meet Charles’ eyes, bright as emeralds. “Okay.” _Like Henry could stop the man._

Charles’ wide, desperate smile faltered. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. Yeah. Uh… yeah.” He got up and walked to the door. He started to open the door, but stopped and looked back at Henry, who lay his head against the wall of the helicopter. “Henry?”

Henry looked up at him. “Hmm?”

The ace pilot looked back outside and then at the pale, barely breathing Toppat. “You… you’re not looking too good. You need a doctor. And we can’t just wait in here. There’s a medic here at the camp.”

Henry shrugged. “Yeah.”

“And, besides, you could get hurt worse if you go back. Because we’re going to arrest the Toppats, anyway. And if I give you back, then it’ll be even longer until you get proper treatment. You know?”

Henry nodded and shut his eyes. Ooooh man, he was tired. He was tired of arguing. He was tired of agreeing. He was tired of staying awake. Well, they were near the government doctor people. He could afford a nap, right? Yeah. Whatever he did asleep would be… well, something bad happened, but it was fine. He was near a doctor.

The door shut.

Henry’s eyes fluttered open. Charles moved Henry so he was in a proper seat and strapped him in. He rushed to the cockpit and started the helicopter. He said something to his headset as the helicopter took off. There was another line, this one slightly agitated, before Charles pressed something on his headset. “Henry, I-I know I’m supposed to give you to the medical team. They would help you. They’re very smart and good at their jobs. But, you’re right. If you’re arrested, you’ll never see your family again. Because the higher ups always go to different places than any of the lower ranking members, and all members of a criminal organization get scrambled to keep them separated. And I don’t want to do that to you. You’re my best friend, Henry. You know I’d do anything for you, right? But you can’t answer me, because you lost a lot of blood. You might even be asleep right now.”

Charles coughed and cleared his throat. “But that’s fine. Because you don’t need to talk. I know you’re there. You’ve always been there. I… I might not know everything there is about you. I kinda do. I wanted to get to know things about you I didn’t know before? If that makes sense? Well, it obviously makes sense because I didn’t know you were a Toppat before this. And, you know, it’s fine. It’s fine. Really, I don’t think of you any less. I still think you’re great. you know? You’re a wonderful man. And I love you.”

Charles’ voice cracked and he cleared his throat. Henry could see so many trees on the mountainous landscape. They were closing in on the Toppat base. Charles… was a great guy.

“But Henry. I learned something. My family always told me that you have to do what’s right. Even if it’s the hard thing to do. You never leave people behind. You gotta know you can trust the people that you love, and that they trust you back. Because love is built on trust. I trust you, Henry. I do. People say I trust too much and too blindly, but I know what a good person looks and acts like. You’re one. The academy taught me that I had to trust my fellow soldiers. That I had to follow orders. That I was going to be doing what’s best for the people. Right? Yeah. And this is better for you. You said that your doctor is competent, and I trust you.”

The rocket loomed high above the trees.

“But, Henry, as much as I love and trust you–which I do, a lot–my job is to protect the people from, well, you. People like you. Toppats and criminals. I didn’t want to believe it, you know? I didn’t want to believe that you were one of these people. Ellie wouldn’t help me. Ellie wouldn’t try to humor anything. She knew you were a Toppat. She told me that she didn’t know before, but that can’t be true, right? How else would she accept it so quickly? You guys have always had a bond I didn’t understand. You’re like two peas in a pod, right? But she said she didn’t know, and I trust her. And that’s not the point. The point is that you’re my friend and I love you and trust you. But sometimes, for the good of everyone, you have to make a tough choice.”

Henry’s eyebrows knitted together. “What…?”

Charles went on, “And making tough choices is kinda difficult. I know dropping you off with the Toppats would be selfish. I know that. I know that dropping you off at the medic base was just going to lead to you getting arrested. No good would come from that. You are a good man, and it would be a waste to see you in prison, even if you did things that people who deserve to be in prison do. It’s an easy choice to drop you off with the other Toppats, Henry. It really is. The General said we had to be careful, you know. That we had to protect ourselves, but also make sure that no matter what happens, we don’t let this rocket off the ground.”

The ace pilot sighed. “You can’t hear me, anymore. I’m not going to kid myself. I waited too long and now you can’t respond. I couldn’t make a choice. If I left earlier, I could’ve taken you back to your Toppat doctor. But I just want you to know something. I love you, Henry. But I realized that with you as a Toppat, they could be anywhere, you know? Hell, maybe Ellie was a Toppat and she just didn’t tell me. Since good people like you can be Toppats, they could become worse than unstoppable. Even now I’m breaking protocol for a _Toppat_. To bring your dead body back to the rocket rather than your living one back to the medical team. But I never told anyone what you were, you know. I wonder if anyone will find out Ellie’s a Toppat. Do you have any other friends I don’t know about? Heh. Well, Henry. The General told me that when we go out, we have to keep that rocket from launching. But we have to play it safe, don’t want to lose anyone we don’t have to.”

Sunlight gleamed off the rocket and the vine-speckled structures at its base.

“But I have a different plan.”

Henry jolted, the explosion barely registering in his mind. Before them, a large hole had been blown into the side of the rocket–low, past storage. Smoke billowed out of the hole torn through hallways and rooms. Just one other layer separated the Core from the outside air.

“I have the greatest plan.”

**Mission Complete**

…

**Misled Hero**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> H. Stickmin banned Ellie Rose
> 
> **VICTORY**
> 
> Kind of a bitter end. But, I've been keeping with a pattern. Sweet and bitter, one for each. (Sorta, I changed one ending last minute)


	24. It Wasn't Me, I Was In Electric (5/7)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired endings: TCW, FM

# Chapter Five

_The Water May Be Sweet_

Henry bought a new phone charger and plugged in his phone. Dad Reginald and Katie texted quite a bit more than Howie or Ellie, which was a little weird as Henry knew Dad Reginald loved calling _way_ more than texting. This was evident by the five missed calls yesterday and the three that day. Dad Right only sent one text.

[Henry, I know why you left, and I can’t make you come back. But you still have a home with us.] 10:55 AM

Henry spent hours looking over the messages, grimacing as he came across Dad Right’s. Yep. Knew it. Somehow always manages to make him feel more guilty than Dad Reginald did while using infinitely fewer words. He glanced at the time on his phone. _4:58 PM_. He had some time before he needed to meet back up with Dave. He sighed, unplugged his phone, and walked back outside. He found “ICE R/C” on his phone. He was unable to help a smile. Right, he got mad at Dad Reginald for something or other a while ago and changed his icon to a cartoon plane. He sighed the smile gone. Welp, now or never. If he was going to get chewed out, might as well not be via text.

The phone hardly rang twice before being picked up. “ _Yes, hello?_ ”

“Hey.”

“ _Henry!_ ” Dad Reginald exclaimed. “ _Where have you been? Are you hurt? You’ve had us so worried! Henry? Are you there?_ ”

Henry cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’m still here. Uh, well, I flew off. I have wings, remember? Part of my cybernetics? Hey, I’m sorry to worry you, but, uh… didn’t really get a chance to think, you know? It was the best option. At the time.”

“ _The best–you burned a hole in the side of the airship and jumped out! You could have killed yourself at that height!_ ”

Henry shook his head. “I, uh… I’m aware of that. But my wings didn’t fail, and we managed to fly quite far away before landing safely. Dave and I are both alive and unscathed. Just, just so you know.”

“ _You weren’t certain those wings would have held you both? Henry, why?_ ”

Henry snorted, unable to help the irritation flaring inside of him. “Well, I dunno. Maybe it was because you were trying to get Dave killed? We didn’t have anywhere to go. I knew the Brig was up against the hull and I wasn’t about to blast Wallace or you or Dad Right. So out the hull was the best idea I had at the time. You weren’t listening and Dad Right wasn’t about to help me because he wasn’t about to change your mind, if he could. Fuck Wallace. Honestly. I wouldn’t, but still.”

“ _Henry, that man was a prisoner. There was absolutely no reason you should have been with the man at_ all _._ ”

“Yeah? And he’s a human who should be treated like a human. And you know what? I don’t care that he was a prisoner. I love him, even if he was a cop. You wanted to kill him because of that! If it wasn’t for Wallace outing us, you would’ve just let him go, right?”

“ _Dammit, Henry, it’s not that simple. I was serious when I said I needed more time to think about what to do with him._ ”

Henry rolled his eyes. “Right, _sure._ Well, Dave’s free because of me and he will _never_ be going back. I don’t care if I have to find a way to hide us for the rest of our damn lives, but I’ll make sure he never ends up in another cell, in the Brig or otherwise.”

“ _Henry._ ” Dad Reginald’s voice was no longer hard, bordering on loud. Rather, he had quieted. “ _I don’t want this to come between us. You didn’t know he existed at the beginning of this year._ ”

“And?” Henry prompted. “Should I have? He’s a great man. He’s fun to be around, very smart, and he’s helped me feel better about having this damned arm. He’s been great to me, even though he’s had every right to hate me. So, I don’t give a shit I didn’t know who he was in _January_. I know him now.” Henry took a deep breath. “Look, I love you guys. You’re my dads. But I called you to try to… I don’t know. I don’t even know why I called. I’m gone and I won’t come back, not right now.”

_Click._

Almost immediately, his phone buzzed. He rejected the call with hardly a glance at the caller ID. He made his way back toward the inner city, toward the RMPD where he would find Sandwich City. Dad Reginald called once more and was rejected once more before stopping. Henry sighed and rubbed his arm. The anger in him slowly melted. When no other emotion was there to fill the gap, a hollowness gripped his heart. God, what was he doing? He could’ve just dropped Dave off and then go back home. Or he could’ve not picked up the phone. He’d initiated the call after all. He could’ve avoided the topic altogether.

No, he couldn’t.

Going back straight after would just land him in way more trouble than he was willing to deal with. Besides, he didn’t lie. He loved Dave. He was a great guy. Dave stuck with him, even when he had every opportunity to flee now that they were on the ground. In fact, he could just stay near the police station and Henry would have no ability to go back to him. He’d be safe there. He could stand Henry up and not go to Sandwich City. How would Henry find him? He wouldn’t, and neither would the Toppats. But Dave didn’t, did he?

Technically, it wasn’t even six and he wasn’t at the restaurant, so Henry couldn’t _definitely_ check that off. However, he was fairly confident. If Dave _didn’t_ show up and instead ran off then… well, Henry would probably be very upset. He’d understand, but that wouldn’t mean he’d happy about it. Approve of a hypothetical situation Henry knew wasn’t going to come true. Maybe he should just start thinking about something else.

Yeah.

Henry spent the rest of the time it took to get to Sandwich City thinking about their future. In the immediate future, they needed a hotel room. Then they could both look into legitimate jobs, since Henry figured Dave wasn’t going to be happy living off stolen money and goods. He knew Dave would probably want a job similar to that of being a cop or nightguard. Hopefully the military wasn’t going to be his next logical step. He could be a security guard again. Right? Henry had found that janitorial job. That he completely ghosted. They probably weren’t happy about that. That and his criminal record… and yet-to-be-finished sentence.

Red Mesa wasn’t going to be the place where Henry could start over. Dave definitely could; he still had his old friends and coworkers here. So, Henry would just need to make do with _something._ Something that wasn’t going to get him arrested, hopefully. _Well, Henry had never been caught with petty theft._ Still, that wasn’t a reliable income, especially with his boyfriend being so against stealing.

Agk, Henry really liked to take the hard road at every opportunity.

Henry waited inside the sandwich shop. Thankfully, he hadn’t needed to wait for long before he found his boyfriend–God he loved knowing that–enter. Henry met him near the line. “Hey!”

Dave jumped and turned to look at him. “Oh! Hey, Henry! You got me, for a second there.”

“Sorry!” Henry stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Uhh… so, how did it go?”

Dave’s smile melted and he looked away. “Oh. Yeah, uh… my old partner. Rupert. He left the force and joined the military. I met up with some of my old colleagues, but nothing major. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen them, and uh… Anyway, the museum is going to take a while to be rebuilt. I, uh… I don’t really have anything here anymore.”

“Oh. I… I’m sorry to hear that, Dave.”

“Yeah. I-I guess it’s understandable though, you know? I wasn’t in the force for very long before being discharged. That was a while ago. They’ve got new people and they’ve got people who’ve been there longer. So, it makes sense they wouldn’t really remember me. It’s not like it’ll be easy to reconnect with Rupert. Which, by this point, it’s hard to say if he’d even _want_ to, you know? I, uh… I don’t know.”

Henry puffed. “Why the hell would anyone not want to reconnect with you? You’re an amazing man, Dave!”

He chuckled, though he didn’t look back. “Thanks. Thanks, Henry, it… that means a lot. So, uh… so what about your friend?” He turned back to Henry.

Henry shrugged. “He wasn’t home, so I dropped a note by his door. I talked with Ellie and Howie, and they said good luck. Talked to Dad Re–Raymond as well.”

Dave grimaced. “That… you don’t sound happy.”

Henry sighed. “Dad Hoyt told me I still had a place there, but they just don’t seem to understand. It’s not like I don’t get them, because I do. But I love you, Dave. Dad Raymond just doesn’t _want_ to accept that. He kept trying to undermine you, like he was trying to convince himself or me that he was right, which he’s not.” He shook his head. “I’m not going back any time soon, not until I know for a fact Dad won’t try to hurt you.”

“That’s your family, though,” Dave pointed out. “I’d-I’d understand if you wanted to go back. I would rather stay here, on the ground, but I don’t want to stop you from going home.”

Henry shook his head. “It’s fine. It’s not your fault, Dave. You didn’t do a thing to deserve any of this.” He smiled. “Anyway, onto something better. Dinner and then we can rent a hotel and think about our future, huh?”

Dave’s future, Henry had predicted, would be looking up. Henry’s future, he had predicted, would stay rocky for a while.

“I can’t go back into the force,” Dave admitted. “Not here, at least. Since the museum’s… broken, and you don’t have any roots here, not anymore, I think we should move.”

Henry, holding a chilly drink in his left hand so his body heat didn’t prematurely melt the ice, tipped his head. “Oh? Where do you want to go?”

“Well, you said you lived in Nevada for a while,” Dave said.

“By a military base,” Henry agreed. “And I only went to school there. As soon as I graduated, I left.”

“Oh.”

A short span of silence stretched between them.

Henry said, “Well, any place but here is as good as any. Want to ask someone for a random number between one and a hundred? Every even and odd couple is a state?”

Dave blinked. “That is a very odd way of looking for a place to live.”

Henry shrugged. “I lived on the move. I’ve never _settled down_ or whatever. Any better ideas?”

“Not really.”

“Nice.” Henry looked around and called to the nearest person, a guy in a leather biker’s jacket, “Hey, dude! Jacket guy!”

The man turned around. “What?”

“Henry!” Dave hissed, his eyes going round.

“What’s a random number between one and a hundred?”

“Seventy-three,” the man stated and then went back to his girlfriend.

“Seventy-three,” Henry repeated. “And that’s close to seventy-four, which divided by two is thirty-seven. So, the thirty-seventh state on the list of states in alphabetical order. What’s that?”

Dave looked at his phone. “Uh… Oregon.”

Henry smirked. “Oregon, huh? Ellie lived in Salem, Oregon, once. So, is that a good place to start fresh, you think?”

The former security guard shrugged. “Well, it’s as good a place as any.”

“Great!” He took a sip from his drink. “We can sleep over at a hotel for a night and begin our pilgrimage. Sound good to you?”

Dave went back to eating his sandwich. “Yeah.”

The first item on Henry’s agenda once they got back to the hotel was check on property listings in Salem, Oregon. Dave went in roughly the same direction, though he took to job openings. There was some real estate in Salem, though it might take a little while to be able to afford it. Again, with Henry’s line of work, it might not take long but Henry might not be going back to his “traditional” line of work. A pity, honestly. “I found some small houses,” Henry said. “They’ll be good for just you and me, as long as you’re okay with a smaller space.”

“Oh, yeah. We won’t need a lot of space, will we?” Dave prompted, looking over at Henry’s phone. They lay side-by-side, now, shoulders touching.

“Nice. Okay, I have a few places. You okay with an HOA?”

“Are _you_ okay with an HOA?”

“Never been in one.”

“Well, that’ll be an experience. But, sure. So, I found a few places I could apply for work and some places that might hire without a college degree.”

“What, is it a Baskin Robins? I hear they do thorough background checks.”

Dave made a weird humming noise. “I don’t think there’s one _in_ Salem. Ignoring bank and museum jobs…”

“Awwww, why can’t I work with you?” Henry fake-whined.

“Because the last museum you went to ended up exploding.”

Henry puffed. “That wasn’t my fault.”

“The last bank you went to, you ended up trying to rob.”

“That was a _vault_ , not a bank.”

Dave sighed. “Henry, if you end up going to prison _again_ , there’s no way I’ll be able to bail you out. You know that, right?”

Henry grinned. “Then I won’t get caught! That simple.”

Dave shook his head. “What about working in a warehouse? Look, it’s tough seeing which ones don’t require a college degree just by the listing. We’ll look at some that interest you and do a deeper search. I’ll help you make a resume.”

“Mm… well, I have about six years work experience,” Henry offered. “And I was technically apprenticed before that. But I don’t think they’ll accept my kind of work experience.”

“Most definitely _not._ ”

Henry sighed and put his phone to sleep. “Aaaaah, well, we can think more about this in the morning…?”

“Henry, this is too important to put off.”

“You know, once, I was considering becoming a prison guard.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.” Henry stretched and then shut his eyes and lay his head back on his hands. “Yep. I had a feeling they wouldn’t accept me, and I _started_ to apply. Then I got distracted and, uh, tried to rob a bank vault. Wouldn’t it have been hilarious if we were co-workers?”

Dave thought for a moment. “Would being a prison guard have stopped you from trying to rob that bank vault?”

“Absolutely not. Whaaat? Don’t look at me like that. I’m a born and raised thief, Dave. That place was just _begging_ to be robbed. Out in the middle of nowhere with minimal security, at least that I saw. I didn’t know they had that internal alarm.” Henry sighed and rolled his eyes. “I know, I know. Thief bad.”

Dave patted Henry’s arm. “Look, I know that… this is a big change…”

The thief gave the former policeman a look of muffled excitement.

“I still don’t agree with it,” Dave went on. “So, I won’t agree with it. But I know I can’t stop you.”

Henry hummed and rolled over so he was facing Dave and pulled him into a hug. “Awwww! Watch out, world! I’m converting Dave to the dark side!”

“No, you’re not!” Dave laughed, “trying” to push Henry away, but putting no real effort into it. His hand slipped off Henry’s shoulder and turned into a return hug.

Henry held on and kissed his cheek. “I totally am~!”

Dave kissed him back. “But didn’t you say you wanted to be a prison guard? I could turn you into a cop.”

“No…”

“I could.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“I’m converting you to the light side.”

“I’d like to see you try!”

“Then watch me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can write wholesome, I swear! Also, I thought of a completely random number, and landing on Oregon was by complete chance. It was amazing.


	25. Ohana Means Family (5/7)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired Endings: TR, CG

# Chapter Five

_The Interview_

Henry waited, dull and uncomfortable as it was. He didn’t know where Howie or Katie went. His room was small and white with a large table in the center. His hands were cuffed to the table before him, in plain view of the large glass window on the wall he could not see through.

“Henry Stickmin.”

Henry glanced up at the ceiling, where the voice originated. He knew he was being watched behind one-sided glass, and the speaker was one of them. He looked at the glass, searching fruitlessly for any indication of someone being there.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t be there.”

Henry said and did nothing.

“Henry, what were you doing there?”

…

Henry asked, “Can I talk now?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Stargazing with my roomies. Katie wanted to teach us some stuff about the November constellations.”

“What were you doing in that house?”

Henry shrugged. “We got curious, I was suspicious of the tire tracks, and Howie’s scared of ghost stories, so Katie and I thought we’d check it out.” _Dumbass. Shouldn’t’ve gone in there in the first place._

“Did you know what you would find in there?”

“Nope. The place looks like it was taken straight out of the fifties or something.”

“Were you looking to take something?”

Henry shrugged. “Ehhh, no. Katie and I figured out pretty quickly it was just some crazy old dead guy’s shack in the middle of nowhere. We don’t actually have a use for old mugs and tin foil.”

“Katie, your partner. What did she say about the house?”

“My friend?” Henry echoed coolly. “Yeah, she’s the junior stargazer. She invited us to go out into the desert to look at some constellations, so I let her do the research. She said that there wasn’t anything _about_ the house.”

“Why did she wish to go stargazing there? Did she tell you?”

“It was convenient, the best place to go,” Henry explained. “Far enough away from the city to not have light pollution, but close enough in case our bikes die we don’t get stranded.” _Well, the upside about being arrested when not in a heist is they’d have no problem having matching stories._

“And what did you know about the house?”

“Only what we could see from the outside,” Henry replied. “Small, old, sturdy. But I knew there wasn’t any treasure in it or whatever you would want to call it.”

“How do you know that?”

“Plain roof, plain ground–well, there was a trail leading to it, but no giant ‘X’ that we could see.” Henry couldn’t help a muffled smile.

“…Henry, have you had any contact with anyone from the US military recently?”

“Yes.” Henry’s childish smile fell.

“Were you told about any plans?”

“No.”

“Were you told when anything confidential may be taking place?”

“No…? Look, I’m not friends with the general or some type of captain or president or something.”

“Were you told when someone may or may not be available?”

“…yes. Him, yeah. He tells me when he’s going to be gone for days at a time so I don’t panic if he doesn’t respond.”

“Did this person, through conscious decision or not, give you the means to know or expect something important was going to be at that shack?”

Henry narrowed his eyes. “No. What are you talking about? I _just told you_ that it was my roommate’s plan to do a totally legitimate, legal, fun activity out in the middle of nowhere. No one else, not someone from the government or police force or the Wall or whatever, told me there was some magical treasure ship hidden in a box in a creepy old shack. … _was_ there a magical treasure ship hidden in that box and I just ran off without it?” Henry couldn’t help the sudden spike of curiosity. A magical treasure ship sounded nice, after all.

“You said that you drove to that specific location to go stargazing?”

“Yes.”

“You said you knew about the house.”

“No.”

“You said you knew the house was there.”

“Yes.”

“You said you have contact with a person currently working for the US military.”

“Yes.”

“You said that this person does not give out classified information.”

“Yes.”

“You said your friend discovered the place searching for places to stargaze.”

“Yes.”

“You said you have worked with the Toppat Clan or those affiliated.”

“No.” Henry kept a neutral, borderline irritated look. _What was this guy smoking?_

…

Henry asked, “Hey, yeah, before you cut the line or whatever, is my friend there? The one whose name I _know_ you aren’t slandering. I mean, if he’s not then just ya’know, give him a message for me, would you?”

“The pilot Charles Calvin is not with us,” the voice stated.

Henry deflated. “What? What do you mean?”

“He’s not here to answer you. Thank you for your time, Mr. Stickmin.”

“What do you mean he’s _not here?_ ” Henry asked, the chill confusion of the sudden statement leaking into heated irritation.

…

“What the hell do you mean by that? He’s one of your best pilots and my best friend! Don’t tell me you _lost him!_ ” he puffed. Dumbasses; Charles was smarter than the lot of them. If he wasn’t around, it was because they didn’t read the memo that he was needed somewhere else. Since Henry’s hands were tied–literally–it wasn’t like he was going to have any luck.

…

Henry growled and rolled his eyes. And of _course_ they left him alone. They just wanted to watch him flip out. Well, suck it, cops. That wasn’t going to be happening any time soon. He’d just have to wait here. In this bright white room. Handcuffed to the table. Without reason, of course. They were doing nothing illegal or suspicious. He should probably text Ellie, since Charles was still out.

…

Henry decided to fall back on thinking about his plans for the next few days. He really should have at least greeted Dave that evening and tell him he’d be gone. Poor guy. He’d need to find Howie and Katie and make their way back to the airship, unfollowed. On the way they could debate on how the cops really caught them. A high-speed chase into the desert sounded fun. One helicopter? Mmm… no, there was definitely two. Or three? He’d need to ask Katie. She was the best at remembering details. And a whole fleet of armored vehicles, of course. It was doomed from the start because they were out like hikers; no equipment, no hats, no weapons, nothing. But they didn’t give up that easily!

By the time the door opened again, revealing a few people in green, Henry rolled his eyes. “Fina…” His voice trailed off upon catching General Galeforce’s gaze.

“Henry,” the general stated. “Are you sure you and your friends didn’t know anything about what was in that house?”

“Positive,” Henry answered. “Why? Is Charles okay? That asshole cop said that they couldn’t let me leave him a message.” Henry’s eyes flicked to one of the soldiers on his other side who walked around the table at the general’s gesture. He seemed vaguely familiar, the one with sideburns and a harsh look that was just a spark shy of permitting him the ability to light people on fire with his glare.

“He isn’t dead,” General Galeforce said, bringing Henry’s attention back to him. “And you’re only partially right about being locked up in here. Henry, you don’t owe us anything, but we would really like to use your help.”

The soldier unlocked Henry from his binds. He immediately hopped to his feet, up and out of the soldier’s reach barely after the last lock clicked into place. “What do you mean _my help?_ You have a literal army. I’m here stargazing with my two roommates. What do you mean by ‘he isn’t dead’? Of course he isn’t dead, he’s _Charles_.”

General Galeforce waved for them to leave. The two soldiers–one was… something and the other was the sideburns guy Henry _knew_ he knew from somewhere–walked to the door, pausing only when the general didn’t follow them. Henry was still in place. He sighed. “Henry, this is a very serious issue.”

“I don’t care what’s happening, I refuse to leave without Howie and Katie, and I need to know what’s going on,” Henry demanded.

There was a short silence. “Alright. Come on, Henry. Your roommates are out here waiting for you. I knew I wouldn’t get a word out of you otherwise.”

Henry couldn’t help a small smile as he followed him out of the room. Charles was onto something, huh? That old man was smart, for a military guy. But that was obvious, favoring freeing Henry’s friends– _who still didn’t do anything wrong_ –was an obvious.

“Henry!” Katie’s call took his attention. Howie and Katie, neither handcuffed but both under scrutiny by a few government goons, stood in the hallway. Howie smiled to one and hummed a greeting. Katie rocked on her heels, hands clasped behind her back and her smile crooked. “Hey, there you are!”

Henry waved back and sped up to meet them. “Hey, Kate, Cowboy! They didn’t get you too good, did they?”

Katie shook her head with a laugh that went on a little too loud and long. “Yeah, no, we’re fine.”

“Completely,” Howie chimed in. “They ain’t so bad once you get ta know ’em, huh?”

“So, I need to talk to the General about Charles,” Henry said.

Howie blinked. “Oh. Well, okay. Yeah. We can wait, eh…”

“Outside?” Katie offered. “There’s probably too much light pollution to see any stars, though.”

General Galeforce nodded. “Escort them out. Stay out of trouble, you two.” He sent a firm look at the two before looking back at Henry and moving on. Henry moved with him. He sent them a wave and a short goodbye. They were gone soon enough. Henry turned on the soldier next to him. “What’s your name?”

“What?”

“I recognize you from somewhere,” Henry elaborated. “I remember your face. What’s your name?”

“Rupert.”

Henry jolted. “Rupert? …Price? You’re in the– _oooooh!_ You’re in the military! Charles talked about you!” _Dave was going to murder Henry._ “Sorry I didn’t recognize you at first.”

“Right.”

Henry’s train of thought did not go much further as they were now outside of the interrogation room and those sprawls of hallways and away from all the drones. Now it was just them–General Galeforce and Henry, as Rupert was allowed to stay outside the warm and decorated office. Henry was not asked to sit. Neither of them left their feet.

General Galeforce, behind his desk, stated, “We last saw Charlie about five hours ago. We lost sight of his helicopter and then radio silence. Two hours ago, we recovered his aircraft, but he was not inside.”

“What?”

The general let out a short, testy sigh. “I understand this isn’t typical protocol, but Henry, you and your friend, Ellie Rose. You two have a knack for finding the boy. No one else on any base I’ve walked on has been able to find that kid so quickly and effortlessly as you two put together. I need you and Ms. Rose to track him down and bring him back.”

Henry managed to say, “Do you have any ideas?”

“We don’t have very much to go on, but we will give you the information you need. I’d prefer it if both you and Ellie worked together on this. I already called her, and she agreed to meet with me. Henry, you had a shady past, and I’m not going to pretend that I believe you and those kids were completely innocent just now. But I know that you’re Charlie’s best friend and I also know that you’re an incredibly intelligent and cunning man. I’m willing to trust you, Henry Stickmin, to find our best pilot and bring him home.”

“Of course. Ellie and I are–we won’t let him down,” Henry agreed. “Definitely. Uh, say, when we found him last time–”

General Galeforce held up a hand. “I would not thank you if you told me how you two managed to track all of us across an ocean and two continents.”

“Gotcha. And about the fiasco just now? What _was_ that? Katie, Howie, and I were just literally going to see the stars. I mean, to be frank, you’re right, if there was something worth it in there, we might have–er, but what was that?”

Henry could swear he saw a smile in all that exasperation. “Henry, you somehow walked straight into a trap we’d planted for the Toppat Clan two hours after planting it. Our men were still getting into position when you stumbled across it. That’s why I was able to clear you three so easily. We hadn’t alerted those thieves to anything, yet.”

Henry could barely keep his composure. _They fell into a trap that wasn’t even finished yet_. “Where’s Ellie? Are we going to be given free range or…?”

“My team picked up Ellie two hours ago. They should be back shortly. Yes, you will have as much or as little government aid as you need. Though there _is_ a limit, understand?”

“Right, sir!” _What? “Sir?” Are you serious?  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Speaking of falling into traps and getting captured by the enemy!


	26. And the Underground Will Go Empty (5/6)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired Endings: TK, GSPI

# Chapter Five

_The Underground Was Full of Hope_

Whooooof, right. Leadership. Chief Sven was going to be a great leader. With Henry being the most focused and adamant about finding Dad Reginald and Dad Right, Chief Sven put him in charge of that while he looked after the rest of the Clan. In fact, Henry was now Chief Sven’s second, taking all the responsibilities required to keep the ship up and running as a team. Henry did make it a point to spend time with Chief Sven, though the man was still rather aloof so they didn’t actually _talk_ very often.

He understood why Dad Reginald and Dad Right looked so tired at the end of the day. Well, he understood before, but first-hand experience really changes one’s perspective far more than witnessing it. Not only did he have more work to do, more _important_ work, but the Clan knew him as their deputy, Chief Sven’s second-in-command. He wasn’t the scrawny little kid from an orphanage in the middle of nowhere, anymore. He took on responsibility and it was _his_ word they looked to. People older than him, some old enough to be parents, one even his technical mother though neither of them acknowledged it. Of course, not everything was wonderful, and it was Henry’s youth and inexperience that gained him attitude, and downright insubordination, from some members. In fact, Henry’s devotion to Dave was something some people had started to talk about in order to undermine Henry. Henry couldn’t care less about _rumors_ , but apparently leaders–even deputies–shouldn’t allow themselves to be attacked in such a way. Henry needn’t use violence. He just needed to bide his time. They didn’t like him for his inexperience? Well, he would prove to them he was just as equally qualified as the other elites and deserved this position.

As a perk, no one really attacked Dave. After they learned what he did, how he tricked the government into sedation until it was too late and everyone was safe on board, he received _far_ fewer disgruntled looks or pointed remarks. Dave was in no way finding himself in any position above a recruit at the moment but working in security and patrolling the ship made him happy and that made Henry happy.

Now, weeks had passed since the station was up. A few timid heists had all gone without a single hitch, the more dangerous ones led by Henry himself. Drop down, grab what needed to be grabbed, and then send an alert to a sentry up top to beam them aboard. If they wanted to hit Washington DC one morning and then London a few hours later, so be it. As long as they stayed in the right position in the station’s orbit, they were good as golden. With Burt keeping track of communications and alerting the crew to incoming hostiles, they were safe as a poison dart frog. No one wanted to touch them, and those that did either couldn’t catch them or couldn’t hold them for long.

They’d had more than a few government agents accidentally beamed up. Those accidents were few and far between, and with their space station already up, there was hardly any reason to bother. So, most of the time, they were thrown back out, tied up and blindfolded as they had been after being found in the teleportation rooms. Henry liked to think he was decently unbiased, more so now that he _needed_ to be in the position he was in. But that was not always the case.

A knock came upon the door to Chief Sven’s office. Henry walked around his desk and opened the door, revealing Jacked Haughman. “Sir?” a pant weighed the man’s voice. “We have another government prisoner.”

“And?” prompted Chief Sven, much more dry than he was three seconds ago. Henry couldn’t blame him. Did they have to run _every single captured government_ through them personally?

“He says he knows you, Mr. Stickmin,” the exhausted Toppat claimed. “We didn’t know what to do with him, since we heard you _do_ know someone in the military.”

“Did,” Henry couldn’t help but correct. “I _did_ know a government man. A pilot.”

Jacked nodded.

“I’ll take care of this,” Henry said turning back to Chief Sven. “If that’s alright?”

“Yes, yes. Hurry back, please.”

Henry went on as they sped-walked from Chief Sven’s office, “Now. What are you doing capturing a government _pilot_?”

Jacked, near to crying as he was again moving very quickly, wheezed, “It wasn’t intentional. We just got done with another heist and some government met up with us. We used the pilot as a shield after his copter crashed and burned half our loot.”

One elevator ride and another bout of walking later, Henry and Jacked met up with Holey Cap and Dave in front of one of the holding cells. They, having been talking to each other, stopped and looked back at him as they approached. Henry looked through the single viewing window in the door and immediately opened it.

Sitting on the bed, hands crossed on his lap and smile just as bright as ever, was Charles. His red headphones and outfit were scuffed, the sleeves torn in some places and blood crusting his abdomen. One shoe was gone. Still, he hummed and smiled up at Henry when he entered. “Finally going to–huh?” Charles’ bright smile bordering on smug vanished. “Henry! Um… I’ll uh, be honest. I thought they were bringing in the chief second-in-command.”

“I _am_ the chief’s second-in-command,” Henry pointed out.

“Oh. Uh… congrats. When was it?”

“After you arrested my family,” He stated, unable to help the coldness bordering his tone.

“Oooh. Right. He.h Y-you know, I, um… I knew you survived,” Charles said, smiling again though it was severely less smug and cheerful. “At first, no one believed me, not even Ellie. But I knew you’d live, ya’know?”

“Mhm. Now, what were you doing?”

“Uuuuuuuh… trying to stop some Toppats from stealing stuff?” Charles more asked than answered.

“Charles, his team broke into a _museum_. What were government people doing near a museum?”

“Guarding it, duh,” Charles puffed, rolling his eyes. “You people target museums, vaults, and jewelry stores for the most part. We pretty much expect it, now.”

Henry’s eyes narrowed and he hummed. “Expected. Yes… that is a problem. If we’re becoming _predictable_. Weird how you didn’t predict this whilst we were on the airship.”

“You guys changed,” Charles admitted. “Ever since your division got captured. We figured it was because of the leadership change–both in the chief and probably a ton of people in charge of planning.” Charles hesitated. “Wait. I’m not supposed to be telling you this. Aaaaagk.” Charles groaned and set his face in his hands. “I’m such an idiot.”

Henry sighed. “No, Charles, you’re not. …hey, where’s Ellie? Is she in the army now?”

Charles looked up at him. “Well… sort of. She’s still a mercenary. But General Galeforce offered her a spot, and I think she’s going to take it. We haven’t heard from you in a long time, you know.”

“The last time I talked with either of you was a few nights before the launch,” Henry agreed. “I don’t have time to play games with you two, anymore.”

“You mean since your division got arrested?” Charles prompted. “You’re not talking to either of us because of that. You could just say that.”

Henry gave him a flat look. “It’s repetitive and whiny. Besides, complaining won’t bring them back, and it won’t change what either of you think.”

“What I think,” Charles corrected. “Ellie and I are different people.”

Henry scoffed. “Yeah, I know. But you agree with everything else she says. You two have so much in common, but she’s still smarter and you still follow her like a puppy.”

“I’m not a puppy!” Charles snapped, jumping to his feet. “I’m an adult who can think for myself! I _think_ bringing down the Toppat Clan is important, I _think_ arresting the airship was a good idea. I _think_ you’re a great person and you were my best friend and I still like you, but I don’t like any of this. I can have my own opinion! I’m old enough and mature enough to!”

Henry blinked. That… was unexpected…?

Then, Charles deflated and sat back down. “Sorry,” he mumbled, looking away. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.”

“…well,” Henry stated, scrambling to regain his composure. “I mean, I know you’re old enough to have your own opinion. I never acted otherwise.”

“You just called me a puppy.”

“Because you follow her like one.” Henry kept his tone neutral. “Not because I think you’re stupid or immature. Just you’re loyal and you think the same way and you’re a nice person. But that still doesn’t mean I’m changing my mind about a thing. I’m the chief’s right hand. I have a responsibility to the Toppat Clan. They’re my people. So now…”

“I’m not,” Charles concluded, his voice even quieter were that possible. “Thanks, though. You’re still a good person, Henry. And… thanks. For being honest.”

Henry thought for a moment. “I know Ellie, and I know what she thinks. But those other soldiers?”

“What do you mean?”

“This didn’t come from nowhere.”

Charles hunched his shoulders. “I’m a good pilot.”

“But not a good soldier,” Henry finished.

Charles sighed.

Henry thought for a moment. The people he hung out with… the Buck twins, Liam… and a girl? July? June? August? Something like that. They could wake up tomorrow with clean houses, no? “Well, I think you’re a good soldier, Charles, and a great pilot. That also means we’re going to have to question you when I get the time and then kick you out. Nothing personal, just standard procedure.”

Charles chuckled. “Okay. Cya, Henny.”

“See ya, Charlie.”

* * * * *

Now, Henry wasn’t thinking about any heists nor the government agents they questioned and then tossed back into the dirt to be stumbled upon later. Right now, he was focused on his parents. Once he brought Dad Reginald and Dad Right back up, they were set. They’d strike a blow against government morale, boost their own morale, and get to work on the rest of the airship division. They’d already fired a test raid in a smaller prison and freed The Witch, Matilda, and Cool Katie. They escaped with injuries, but nothing life-threatening.

Henry turned and walked out of Chief Sven’s office. Gloved hands behind his back, he made his way to an elevator and then down to Wing Seven. They had low-risk cells inside where there was a door and simple utilities, such as a bed and closed off toilet. High-risk cells were out in the wing, where a security camera, TV, emergency eject button, and two electromagnetic cuffs were implemented into the room. The cuffs hung from the short ceiling, with a security camera in the upper corner, half of the cell facing out being made of space-resistant glass, and the TV and buttons in the wall next to the airlock. The cell wasn’t exactly _made_ for long-term holding but rather a few hours, perhaps a day. High-security prisoners were dealt with by the end of the day, either by being guided to another cell or ejected from their cell in another way.

Now, Henry stood before the first cell. Howie joined him with Holey Cap and Fredrick Muenster, both armed and standing at ready on either side of the cell. There was no window looking into the cell. Henry pressed a button beside the door. The door split in half and opened with a quiet _hiss_. Hanging by the cuffs was a man Henry barely recognized. He was tall, muscular. A needle digging into his skin stayed taped to the middle of his forearm, currently disconnected from any lines. Dark hair had plastered to his head and neck and shoulder from sweat and time. A long-sleeved shirt, heavy for a shirt but nothing unnatural, and thick pants and furry boots dressed him. Ribs stuck sharply under his shirt, carving dark and light lines into the fabric. One dark eye, sunken from exhaustion, stared blankly in the general direction of his feet. He didn’t twitch to acknowledge Henry’s and Howie’s presence.

The door shut behind the deputy and his best friend after they entered the already cramped room. Again, the prisoner didn’t look up. If Henry didn’t know better, if the man’s lungs didn’t move his chest and the machinery that had hung from him like an old spider’s web hadn’t beeped and whirred not an hour before, he might have thought the man dead.

…

“We don’t have much time,” Henry stated.

The man didn’t move.

“I trust that you realize these past couple of weeks have been a mercy to you.”

…

“Your _silent treatment_ isn’t going to piss me off, Afanasiy. You’ve been plenty quiet, especially around me.” Henry couldn’t help the small smile. “I still remember your voice. Years and years ago. It was so… warm, inviting. As a child, I couldn’t help but like and trust you. You were kind to me, when you didn’t have to be. You were patient. You were everything that people said you weren’t. Then, I found out the hard way that this _relationship_ I built with you, the image I had in my head of what you were, was a complete lie. I’ll be honest, Afanasiy, I learned a good lesson that day. I learned trust shouldn’t be freely given. I learned the Wall is nothing short of evil.”

…

“Again, I understand that you don’t want to talk to me, and that’s fine. I can’t force you to talk, just like I can’t force you to eat. Doesn’t mean the doctor couldn’t.” Henry glanced at the needle in the man’s arm. “He’s practically a miracle worker. Almost like Dr. Vinschpinsilstien. Though you don’t dare mention her name around him. He has a temper to begin with but, heh, not very nice when you talk about his old college pal. She rescued me, though.” Henry took off his left glove, allowing the faint green glow from the cuffs suspending Afanasiy to gleam off the metal. Light from outside of the station coming in was there, too, though most of it was blocked by the hanging prisoner. In all rights, the outside was gorgeous. Henry had gotten very used to it, sure, but the endless universe and the Earth far, far below was nothing short of stunning. Too bad Afanasiy couldn’t see it with his back turned to the glass.

“Dmitri tried to kill me. But he couldn’t do it. Oh, did he try. Multiple times, funnily enough. I always wondered how someone would willingly follow a man who, after being convinced he’d killed two little kids, walked away irritated that they had escaped in the first place. Do you want to tell me why, Afanasiy? When you claimed to have a little kid of your own. I recently found that it wasn’t a lie. You do have a young man out there, a son in the Wall, brash due to his special treatment for being your son. Ryan Halberd.”

Though slight, Henry managed to find a reaction. The man’s mouth twitched but did not open. His blank stare hardened a little before being wiped of emotion.

“But we didn’t do anything to him, if you’re wondering,” Henry went on. “I would never order someone harmed just because of what their family did. Now, Afanasiy, I know that no matter what you think we would do to you, you wouldn’t tell us a thing. That’s fine by me, because we don’t need anything from you.”

Henry’s hand extended into a rapier and he pointed it at Afanasiy’s chest before raising the man’s head so his one dark eye was forced to meet Henry’s bright blue ones. “We both are certain–the Clan, too, if I can be so bold as to say–that we wouldn’t get a peep out of you of your own accord. Again, that’s fine by me. I just want you to know that it didn’t have to end this way. I’m going to go to the Wall. I’m not a child anymore, I don’t fear monsters. We will not keep you here, either, waiting for you to find a way to break yourself out or to waste resources keeping you alive. But for what it’s worth, I believed you were a nice person, once. Thank you for teaching me such a valuable lesson. I don’t miss the nightmares that ensued, of course, but it ended up building character, huh?”

Henry lowered his sword, allowing Afanasiy’s head to fall back down. His sword turned back into a hand. “Howie? Anything to say?”

“Ah’ve never met ya before,” Howie admitted. “Honestly, Ah didn’t miss much, Ah don’t think. Yer not as scary without that big coat and hat and gun on ya. But yer lucky Henry’s the one in charge here. Ah would’ve been far less merciful to ya.”

Henry chuckled. “Oh, right. I forgot about that. Yeah, this is the last time you’re seeing us. We’ll send you back to your family. It’s been interesting, Afanasiy. The first time I saw you, you tried to kidnap me. Now, the last time I see you, you’re _my_ prisoner.” He looked to Howie, who nodded and pressed a button on the wall. The door opened.

As Henry left, he heard a quiet, dry voice croak behind him, “I was your fathers’ prisoner, Гудчайлд.”

Henry looked behind him. Гудчайлд. He hadn’t heard that term, that nickname, in _years_. Afanasiy watched Henry with a sudden intensity.

Afanasiy went on, “And now they’re the Wall’s. Your fathers won’t leave the Wall in any condition better than mine.”

Henry clenched his teeth to stifle a glare but couldn’t help the dark look he shot back at him.

“Dmitri did not jest when he told you that you would suffer, Гудчайлд.”

Henry turned around. “What do you mean by that?”

“It is trap. They’re waiting for you, Гудчайлд. But he’s no fool. They’re alive but may not be in one piece for long.” He glanced to the side, toward Earth. “It has been some time, Henry. I’m surprised. I thought that if you truly cared about them, you would have found them earlier.”

Henry bristled. “I’m not walking into a trap, and they wouldn’t want me to. We’re ready now, I’m not letting the Wall win!”

Afanasiy turned back to Henry. “Is that true, Гудчайлд? You know that by now they will not be able to lead.”

“That’s not true. Dad Reginald and Dad Right are strong people and great leaders. They’re brilliant. No one can break them. They’ll come back and then they’ll heal and be able to lead again! They’re better than I am, it would be selfish and arrogant to think otherwise!”

Afanasiy snorted. “I knew since you were a kid you were going to be a good leader. Kind, smart, talented, albeit naïve but that was just your age speaking. But you’re a criminal, and you follow your own rules. You have no competition here, Гудчайлд. You may not be chief now, but that won’t stop you, not for long. If you wait, or if you don’t do your best, you will lose them. But how much of a loss would that be? They’ve outlived their usefulness, haven’t they?”

Henry felt a pair of arms around him, tearing him back out of the cell. “Henry!” Howie’s voice was stern, but quiet in his ear. “He wants ya to kill him. Don’t take his bait.”

Henry glowered at the shut door separating him and his Wall guard prisoner. He shut his eyes and spat, “Weren’t you urging me to kill him?”

“No,” Howie stated, his grip on Henry tight enough to hamper his breathing. One hand gripped Henry’s mechanical wrist. His hand was gone, replaced by a laser blaster. “Ah never told ya that, Ah told ya he wasn’t worth yer time. He still isn’t.”

Henry hissed something through his teeth, but no intelligible words came through. Still, he said nothing further. Eventually, Howie relaxed his grip. He only let go after Henry’s laser blaster turned back into a hand. “Dammit,” he mumbled, opening his eyes and pulled his glove on. “God dammit. Howie: get the mission together. Fredrick, Holey: stand guard until Dave and Manuel relieve you.”

With that, Henry was walking. Howie stayed by his side until they got to the cabin, where they split up. He knew he shouldn’t be alone right now. He couldn’t be alone in the quiet, Afanasiy’s words gnawing at his mind. The worst part about it all was… it was true, in a sense.

Henry had gotten used to this position of power. He loved his fathers, and he would never forsake them. He wanted to live in the Toppat Clan with Dad Reginald and Dad Right as his superiors. But of course there _had_ to be that voice, that thought, in the back of his head. _“What if they couldn’t lead?”_ After all, he was right. No one opposed Chief Sven’s regin, but if Henry was able to pull off a Wall breakout, no one would oppose Henry, even if Chief Sven somehow became a very short-lived leader. But if Dad Reginald and Dad Right came back, Henry and probably Chief Sven would be expected to step down. Of course he would, Dad Reginald was a wonderful leader and Dad Right was a great boss, but of _course_ there was the question of _“Could they stop him?”_ Terrence was overthrown for being reckless and endangering the Clan. Before him, Sir Wilford IV died in combat. Before him, Jaques Kensington was killed in a duel between him and Wilford. Jaques took over when Reynaldo the Brute went missing in combat. Reynaldo the Brute took over when Randy Radman stepped down peacefully. Dad Reginald’s legacy would be similar; he got arrested and Chief Sven took over.

Henry shook his head, as if the motion could dislodge the foul thoughts worming into his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Henry's settled in nicely. Looks like we're tying up some loose ends.


	27. My Kingdom for a Ship (5/5)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired endings: TK, TR/PP

# Chapter Five

_Spiral Portrait Hall_

Henry stood in one of the spiral hallways, rubbing his finger over the golden dollar sign embedded with blue gems that now hung from a golden chain around his neck. His eyes swept across portraits of Chiefs past. Dusty, Cloudface, Randy Radman, Reynaldo the Brute, Jaques Kensington, Sir Wilford IV, Terrence Suave… Reginald Copperbottom… Sven Svensson. Henry’s eyes lingered on Reginald’s plate. He grinned into the camera, a sly smile some mistook for a taunting smirk, the fingers of one hand twirling his mustache like a classic movie villain. Henry had always found amusement in the action. His father did that on occasion, mostly in tense situations involving a massive obstacle that Reginald managed to get on top of. Chief Sven stared, unamused, into the camera. It wasn’t too bad a reflection from his normal mood. Even when they were alone, Henry sticking with him far more than most others as his right hand, Chief Sven looked perpetually exasperated. Though, whenever he and Burt met up, he looked a _little_ less annoyed.

_Dad Reginald._

Dad Right’s portrait was nowhere to be seen. No deputies who didn’t become chiefs had dedicated portraits in this hall. A shame, but Dad Right did have a picture of himself, one that hung next to Dad Reginald’s. Together in death as they had been in life.

A pang cut through Henry’s heart at the thought. They had lived just long enough to see the rocket complete and to start to take off, but never did step foot inside and look out the window to see the Earth far, far below. Henry would gladly trade his title and position if he meant the previous chief was alive. He’d have given his own life for them, which he nearly did. But Ellie and Howie wouldn’t have let that happen. Because of those government goons, Henry was robbed of his parents. And now, as he looked at the portrait of his late father, he found so much more had been lost than he previously realized.

They didn’t see Sven’s ceremony, or Henry’s appointment. They didn’t see the Toppat rocket become a thriving station. They didn’t see Henry’s wedding day, nor would they see their grandchild. But… Henry saw it, he lived it. One day, Henry would come to take his last breath, too. But that day was not today, nor would it be any day soon. With Ellie and Howie at his side, with the Toppat Clan living in the station, he doubted that day would come any time soon.

“Ah thought Ah’d find ya here.”

Henry didn’t need to look behind himself to see Howie approaching him. “Yeah.”

“It’s been a long few years,” Howie said with a small shrug. “With your and Chief Sven’s guidance and caution, far fewer people’ve lost what you have.”

“I don’t know how to feel about that.”

“Heh. Not good, probably,” said Howie. “Not that ya’d want people to lose more. If ya did, we’d see it and Ah’d probably have ta toss you out the station! But Ah get it.”

A short silence spanned between them.

“So, Ellie sent me.”

“Oh?” Henry looked back at him.

“Ah don’t understand women,” Howie sighed. “She sounded ’bout ready to kill ya, but she asked me to make sure you were okay? Oh, and somethin’ about, eh… shopping or…?”

“Ooooh.” Henry nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I promised I would go pick out some clothes and colors. Can you believe she’s changed her mind on what color the _walls_ should be three times?”

“Women are crazy, Ah’ll give ya that.”

“Pfft.” Henry turned away from the portrait completely and made his way to a ladder going up. “You only say that because you managed to marry the craziest woman I know.”

“She ain’t that bad.”

“…”

“A’ight, she has her moments. But Ah love her.”

“And we _all_ know that.”

**Mission Complete**

Angel and Not-Angel. It’s been a while.

**Executive Promotion**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the first scene I wrote for this path, back when this story had I branch and, like, seven endings. I really like the Henry/Ellie ship, but since it wasn't at all popular, decided to have it in only one ending. A bittersweet one, at least.


	28. It Wasn't Me, I Was In Electric (6/7)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired endings: TCW, FM

# Chapter Six

_Where Will We Be Five Years From Now?_

Neither of them had the money–or credentials–to buy a car, at least right then. So, they packed up their hotel room and found an international bus. The drive on the buses they took was long. They had to stop multiple times as there wasn’t a bus that went from Red Mesa all the way to Salem. Well, there might have been, but Henry didn’t like the idea of having that on any kind of record. If someone wised up and looked for them in Red Mesa, they’d just find that bus route and assume it was them. But here, stopping somewhere in upper Nevada, the bus routes split. Then each of those split further as they wound through the country, some going up, some doubling back, some moving East or West. So, although technically possible, it was incredibly ridiculous. There was one point where they rented a hotel and then, packing food and water, walked from one town to the other. Good luck tracking buses when they skipped one! As if they would, but they couldn’t be too careful.

If Henry met them, it would be on his own terms.

They were in Salem, and wow. Ellie didn’t exaggerate. There were trees, plenty of clouds, and it was cold and windy. Dammit if Henry didn’t immediately buy himself a nice thick coat. The low was barely above freezing, shut up Dave.

Dave opened the door to their newest hotel room. “Look, Henry, if it’s too cold in the winter, we can go back south. Texas or Louisiana.”

“Louisiana has too many hurricanes and Texas reminds me of Howie,” Henry grumbled, reluctantly parting with his pretty blue coat.

“Howie was from Texas, right?”

“Mhm. Lived on a horse ranch when he was younger, he said. He never did tell me where he was _born_ , just where he lived after being orphaned.”

Dave plugged in his phone and sat down. “Okay, so, we’ve narrowed it down to about a dozen places. I looked at my resume so I can start applying for jobs tomorrow morning. Did you write yours?”

“I can’t write a resume on my _phone_ , can I?”

“I did.”

“You’re a cop, though. They probably teach you that in cop school or something.”

Dave snorted. “Cop school? Are you serious?”

“Do I _look_ like I know where people learn to become policemen?” Henry walked around the room, looking over the walls and inspecting their current living space.

“The academy,” Dave stated. “You go to an academy to learn and qualify to become a police officer.”

Henry shrugged. “We don’t have thief academies. I mean, we _do_ need qualifications.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’m not qualified to work communications, for example,” Henry said. “I technically could in an emergency situation, but I get distracted too easily. I’m qualified for field work, like heists, and training. So, I can test other people and train others, if necessary. Burt is qualified for communications, but not for groundwork. I’m qualified to fly the airship, but I won’t because I’m not the chief. In emergency situations or ones where the chief is unable to fly the airship for any reason, Dad Right, Sven, and I are all trained in flight, and flying would go in that order. I can conduct meetings of my own with people outside the Toppat Clan but am not allowed to go alone with high-priority people because of my kleptomania. I might steal something on accident and piss them off and no one would be happy about that. It’s pretty nuanced once you really get down to it. What, did you think a criminal was a criminal?”

Dave opened his mouth to speak, and then stopped himself. “…actually, a little bit. But _you_ can’t name every branch of military or station in the force.”

“You’re right. I can’t.”

Yeah, Henry couldn’t name every branch of government or station in the police force. Dave didn’t know every position in the Toppat Clan. But such ill knowledge slowly got rectified over the months they spent together in Salem. Dave found himself working as a mall security guard–Henry had yet to stop calling him “mall cop”–and Henry found himself working in a warehouse. So, it wasn’t fun, per say. He made a few new friends, but Henry never talked about really any part of himself. It wasn’t _that_ hard; he’d been doing it since middle school. So, his reputation as being a physically able amputee with a knack for stealing and an ex-police mall cop boyfriend appearing out of thin air was met with many theories, each wilder than the last. Henry’s favorite was that he was a veteran who got injured and discharged after stealing something–Henry’s kleptomaniac nature hadn’t been shy to present itself–and he ran away, taking his cop boyfriend with him. They had to go into hiding lest they were found out. Hey, they were able to afford _a_ car and a small house, at least, through _almost_ completely legal means.

None of Henry’s new coworkers felt like calling the police on him, or even their bosses when Henry found he was holding onto something he shouldn’t be. After all, he’d return it with an apology. He also took out whoever wanted to go out for drinks on occasion. The best way to keep the heat off was to have a few friendly allies, right? Also, being somewhere cold helped.

One night at the bar after watching a football game, Henry swiped a woman’s wallet right out from under her nose and then nearly got in a fight with her boyfriend when he tried returning it. Dave–the most sober one there being the designated driver–somehow pulled him out of the tense situation. One of Henry’s coworkers–after checking his phone–pointed out kleptomania was a disorder that therapy could help. Henry instantly disagreed with the notion. Therapy was for people who were messed up, and Henry wasn’t messed up. But after the recent almost-fight and encouragement from all of his friends there, Dave, and even the bartender, Henry grumbled a “maybe” and went home. The next evening, he found his calendar modified to fit a booking in a few weeks. He just sighed and took his suit to get dry cleaned. He’d go, as long as Dave did, too.

A few days into their new home, Henry got a text. _Ellie._

[Henry?] 12:45 PM

[Listen, I know you’re probably busy, but we need to talk.] 12:45 PM

12:50 PM [What about?]

[Where are you? This… probably needs to be in person.] 12:50 PM

12:50 PM [Ellie, I said I wasn’t going to tell you guys where we live.]

[“You guys”? What about your best friend who hasn’t even been in the Clan for four months? I thought we were all going to meet sometime anyway; you, me, and Charles.] 12:51 PM

12:51 PM [Oh, is that what this is about? I mean, sure.]

[No, that’s not what this is about, but seriously, I do need to talk to you.] 12:51 PM

[Please?] 12:51 PM

12:52 PM [Alright, alright. Let me just call you, okay?]

Henry didn’t want his location in a text history of all things, and she seemed okay with it. There was a little surprise he’d be somewhere so cold and muggy as Oregon, but she expressed no further surprise or interest in where he lived. Instead, she asked for a place and a time. As Henry’s lunch break was winding to a close, he offered to meet at seven, just past dinner, at one of the local diners.

When Ellie met, she was dressed up in a suit but didn’t have her hat, making Henry–dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans–feel severely underdressed. Immediately, he was caught off guard by the seriousness in her expression. “Henry,” she stated, sitting down and cutting out all friendly formalities. “I was planning on tell you this at the airship, but that didn’t work out.”

Henry sat down across from her. “What… do you mean?”

“Okay, look. Henry, I’m a double agent. I was hired by the government to infiltrate the airship and find some way to bring the Toppats down.”

…what.

“But!” she went on quickly. “I didn’t know you were a Toppat. Or had been or whatever you want to call this. I… I was planning on outing the Clan but finding some way to get you out of it. Like an exception or pardon or something.”

“…”

“But it didn’t work out like that,” she went on. “You remember when I tried to talk to you? I walked in on you and Dave.”

Vaguely, he could recall that night, trying to sleep in his bed after their tentative confession. “You looked pretty tired.”

“I didn’t get any sleep that night,” Ellie admitted. “I was planning on taking down the Toppat Clan the next day. But seeing you… just… asleep–or trying to–with Dave, it just… Dave was a prisoner, you know? The government made the Toppats out to be ruthless, and I thought you’d been corrupted by them. But no ruthless murdering thief would fall in love with a security guard. No ruthless, murdering criminals would risk wound and death to keep each other alive and safe. So, I abandoned the plan. Even after you left, I just… I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t make you watch as your family was taken away from you because you made the decision to save his life. I’m not telling you to come back. But I _am_ telling you that… the Clan is still safe. Tonight I’m going to talk to the chief about all this. I’ve still got some info he’d probably find useful about the government.”

Henry shook his head. “That… is crazy.”

“Pretty much.”

“Thank you, Ellie.”

A smile formed on her face and she punched him in the shoulder. “Of course, Papa Hen! I couldn’t do that to you, man! Now, where’s that boyfriend of yours, huh?”

Ellie… was a good friend.

But trouble wasn’t fond of leaving Henry alone.

One December night a few months after they left, Henry watched as the new lady talked about this new orbital station that was now in a steady orbit around the Earth. The report wasn’t _too_ fast, just some thins about the Toppat Clan being untouchable and wreaking havoc–including stealing a giant emerald. When the report ended and went to something mundane he couldn’t care less about, he rewound it to watch the report again. Dave found him after the fourth rewind, his navy blue top hat on his head, and dragged him away.

Henry’s cybernetics needed to be recharged. Normally, he’d plug his arm into the wall and go to sleep. By the morning he’d be good to go. But he didn’t have his charger cord. His shoulder was plugged into the wall by a _phone charger_ of all things, now. It fit, and the little yellow light on his shoulder usually hidden by the plate told him it was working. But it wasn’t that fast. He’d plug himself in at night and wake up in the morning to a barely charged appendage. As he used his arm and spine more in heavy labor, he needed to charge more. After the first few weeks, it was just annoying. But two months had passed, and so had the term “annoying.”

“Jesus Christ, Henry, you need to stop spending so much time outside, it’s not good for you!” Dave heaved, all but dragging Henry into their room from their quaint little car. After the man had collapsed at work, Dave somehow teleported to the warehouse. That or broke a few traffic laws. He had gotten the help of a couple of Henry’s coworkers to bring him into the car. At that point in time, Henry had been awake and huffy about the attention, but complained of needing nothing more than some sleep and could barely walk on his own two feet. Dave made a half-hearted excuse about blood sugar or something and drove him home.

Henry mumbled but couldn’t quite answer. In fact, it was hard for him to understand the words going into his ear. His left arm was deactivated, he could feel his other arm and legs starting to give out as well. God it was getting hard to breathe. He’d never had asthma or bad food allergies or whatever. He remembered getting breathless after hard exercise, but that was _nothing_ compared to how… tired he was. He usually got an elevated heartrate after so much activity, and he breathed more. But not now; now his heart was struggling to beat and had he stopped breathing? No, he was still alive, but there was a mostly numbed pain in his chest, now.

* * * * *

Dave dumped Henry onto their clean bed, smearing the dust Henry had collected on their blanket in the process. He hadn’t wasted a breath before he dragged Henry up to the pillows and plugged his shoulder into the wall. “Henry? Henry! Can you hear me? Henry! Tell me you’re breathing, _please_ tell me you’re–hsss! No!” Dave swore to himself and got up onto the bed so he was semi-level with Henry. With Henry’s weight distributed, but Dave’s concentrated mostly on his knees, the bed sunk unevenly. He set the heel of his hand on the center of Henry’s chest, his fingers level with his armpit, set his other hand on top of the first and bent forward so his shoulders were above the center of Henry’s chest. He mumbled numbers under his breath as he started compressions, skipping the first ten’s place whenever necessary.

“…seven, eight, nine, thirty.” Dave let go, glancing at the man’s face. Although Henry _had_ gotten a little pale, some of the color returned to his face. Still, he wasn’t breathing nearly as well as Dave wanted him to be. He tipped Henry’s head back, plugged his nose, held onto the bony part of his chin, and took a deep breath. _One second in, move your head to get clean air, another second, start compressions again. Thirty compressions in fifteen seconds. Keep going until help arrives._ But help wasn’t going to arrive. Dave just needed to keep going until the man’s stupid cybernetics started functioning properly enough to let him breathe.

One and a half torturous minutes passed before Dave could feel Henry’s breaths in earnest. Dave let go and checked his wrist. His heartbeat had become steady, as did his breathing. The color had returned to the man’s face. Dave sighed and bowed his head, his shaky hands on his knees. He almost lost him. Dave almost lost the man because he didn’t recharge his batteries. It had been a joke at first; Henry trying to weasel out of chores by claiming his arm was tired and Dave playfully calling him any random appliance name when looking for him. _“Microwave! It’s dinner! Where are you?”_ _“Laundry’s done, Hairdryer. It’s your week and I would like to sleep on a bed with sheets tonight.” “I’m not calling you in sick for work because you’re tired, Flashlight. Get out of bed.”_

But this was no joke. Henry had nearly _died._ Dave nearly lost him. God, Dave nearly lost him. This fun little life they’d tentatively built, where would it go? Dave enjoyed being a _mall cop_ , but he knew Henry wasn’t entirely content working in a warehouse. Dave had been urging him into taking some community college courses, go into something he might like more. But that was for naught if he died because he wasn’t plugged in properly with the proper equipment.

 _“I don’t need a charger cord,”_ Henry had dismissed one evening over dinner. _“I have that phone cord. I’ll be fine.”_

_“Henry, I know you don’t want to, but… maybe we should–”_

_“No.”_ Henry’s lackadaisical expression, one Dave knew to be a fake cheer to cover his nervousness, vanished and he stared at Dave with hard eyes. _“I’m not going back. Dad Reginald hasn’t admitted he was wrong. He hasn’t learned his lesson. Until he does, I’m not coming back home. I don’t want to put you in danger for my own convenience getting a faster charger cord.”_

Well, Henry was asleep now. Barely alive, he probably wouldn’t be awake for a while. Dave ran his hand over Henry’s wrist, stopping as his fingers touched the man’s wristband. He never took it off under any circumstances. Not in the shower, not at work, not when changing clothes. Dave knew he was bluffing. If he truly never wanted to see his parents again, he would’ve gotten rid of the wristband that could tell them Henry’s exact location. If Henry didn’t want to go there on his own, fine. But Dave wasn’t going to sit here and watch the man kill himself over pride. Pride and fear, technically. But Dave wasn’t afraid.

 _“Who knows, maybe they don’t care about me, anymore,”_ Dave mused as he squeezed the wristband. A button compressed under his fingers and he let go. Maybe they’d care more that their son is in trouble. Dave got off the bed and pulled out his phone. He was still in uniform and was technically still on shift. So, his work was the first place he called. He left, so he needed to apologize, but it was an emergency. After sharply pointing out Dave could’ve let an ambulance handle it, his superior acknowledged his absence.

Henry’s superior immediately asked about Henry. He was going to be fine. But they needed to move back to his home across the country to get the appropriate care he needed. His heart and lungs were giving out on him, so they needed to return to the original hospital on a military base. That was fine, just call when everything’s settled and make sure they knew Henry was alive.

The front door opened. Dave, sitting in the desk chair he pulled up next to the bed, jumped and bristled. So soon? …oh, right. Orbital station. He took a deep breath and listened to the footsteps cut through the tiny house. He recognized the two faces that appeared in their open bedroom. He hadn’t gotten a good look at them before. In fact, his first time even hearing their voices came from the day the one with the curly mustache ordered Wallace to kill him. He had two top hats and yet somehow kept them out of his face and his bright brown eyes. That golden dollar sign with blue jewels compressed the ruffles on the chest of his shirt and the chain it belonged to wrapped around the man’s neck. “Henry!” he exclaimed; the tone energized with fear. Beside him, his nearly black-brown eyes on Dave, was also Henry’s father. Ginger with a handlebar mustache and a wide-brimmed hat that tried its best to shadow his face.

Dave got up, moving back in time to allow the chief around him and to Henry’s side. Dave said, “He’s alive and asleep right now. I had to do CPR on him a little while ago.”

Reginald–Chief Reginald–turned to Dave. “Why is that?”

“His cybernetics,” Dave claimed. “He left his charger cord at the airship. So, he’s been using a phone charger, which kind of works. L-look, I tried convincing him to go back, but he refused to budge. Well, I don’t want this happening again.”

Chief Reginald narrowed his eyes and turned back to Henry. Right Hand Man still hadn’t taken his eyes off Dave, who barely suppressed a shudder. Chief Reginald went on, his voice weirdly quiet, “Did he tell you why?”

Dave sighed. “Well, he _told_ me you were stubborn. Honestly, if you’re anything like him, I’d believe it. He’s being incredibly stubborn about the ordeal. But… he was also worried about what would happen when he got back. He left if you could call it that, to save me, after all.”

Chief Reginald sighed and sat down on the chair beside him. “How long ago did you plug this charger in?”

“About two minutes before I pressed the button on his wristband,” Dave said. “So… about half an hour ago. If you take him off the charger now, you really should switch to his original one and keep him asleep for a while. If you wake him up now, he’ll hurt himself.”

“I’ll get it.” Right Hand Man’s voice was a deep contrast to Chief Reginald’s higher pitched voice. Then, he was gone.

Chief Reginald asked, “He truly said he wouldn’t go back because I was being stubborn?”

 _And until he learned his lesson. But this should be lesson enough. After all, what could the chief have done to deserve his kid dying out of their equal stubbornness?_ “Yes. He never gave me a direct answer, but he was being just as stubborn. I guess neither of you have apologized?”

Chief Reginald shook his head.

Dave leaned on their desk and watched the clock. The big hand pointed to the “4” while the little hand pointed to the “9” on the wall.

“What have you been doing here?” Chief Reginald asked. “I’ve never seen him wear these before.”

“Oh. He works in a warehouse, now,” Dave informed him. “Eh, he didn’t want to work fast food and he only has a high school degree and a shady lack of history for someone in his mid-twenties. He met some people and seems to like his work. It takes the charge out of his cybernetics more quickly using them so much.”

“Does he enjoy it there?”

“Sometimes. Likes to complain about it, but he likes to go out on occasion and take his coworkers and I to the bar.” Dave chuckled. “He says he never told his coworkers where he lived or what he did before. They picked up on ‘Harry Smith’ not being his real name. So, they’ve been making wild guesses.”

“And he’s happy here?”

Dave shrugged. “I like to think so. I mean, there are times when he just gets in a funk that I can’t bring him out of. I know he misses you guys and his friends. It was funny watching him be so shocked we had space outside of our house that we owned. Makes sense since he’s never had a yard before. That’s why our yard has a ludicrous amount of lawn decorations. He collects them like there’s no tomorrow.” Dave wrinkled his nose. “Sometimes from other people’s yards.” He did away with the look. “And having _windows_. I don’t know where he lived in Red Mesa, but he said the last time he had a window in the place he lived was in the orphanage. Which blew my mind, honestly? How do you live for _so long_ and _so well_ without ever having had a window? Or, you know, needing to go outside to go over to someone else’s house and not just walk down a hallway. Or a pet. He’d never had a pet before, even a hamster. I was considering getting a dog. Like a medium dog, not a small one and not one that was super big, you know. We talked about it a little.”

Dave had a feeling the man was no longer listening to him. He hadn’t turned even a little when Dave started or stopped talking, after all.

“A dog?” Chief Reginald echoed. “He wanted a dog?”

Dave shrugged. “I don’t know. We just kinda talked about it. His friend has like a German shepherd mix. It’s nothing solid, and I’m thinking against it because we’re both working people. Dogs are a big responsibility, you know? More than a cat or a hamster. They’re like kids; you can’t leave them alone all day. They need plenty of attention and work. If you take your eyes off them for too long, they tear something up or poop on the floor or something. With him working at a warehouse and me as mall security, we wouldn’t have the time for a dog. A cat or a hamster, maybe. But Henry wasn’t thrilled with the idea of a rodent. Said he doesn’t like their teeth and beady eyes or something.”

Dave was just rambling by this point. And Chief Reginald was okay with that? Probably just wanted background noise or something. Dave was good with that.

The front door opened. In through their tiny house came Right Hand Man, wielding a long, rolled up cord. It was thicker than the puny phone charger currently connected to Henry. Chief Reginald replaced the cord, tossing the phone charger at Dave to take. Dave rolled up the phone charger. “Wonder what this month’s electricity bill’s going to be like. Maybe charging faster uses less electricity in the long run. Does that make sense?”

“Well, it’ll be whatever it needs to be,” stated Chief Reginald. “Once he has rested enough and wakes up, we’ll talk further on the subject.”

Dave nodded, though he knew the man wasn’t looking at him. “Yeah.” He resisted the urge to offer them drinks. They had a few snacks and bottles of water and various juices–neither Henry nor Dave had been given a sufficiently broad enough array of choices considering beverages whilst at the airship–but he had a feeling standing around their loved one who was actual breaths away from dying a few hours ago wasn’t the best time. It was Dave’s week to do laundry, and they had dirty laundry piled up. The bed was now included in that. Henry took a shower and changed clothes before even thinking about touching that bed after work. Since Dave didn’t usually have dust or dirt on him, the bed was rarely visibly dirty.

“Hey,” Dave broke the silence. “I can bring in a chair from the kitchen for you, Right Hand Man. We only have one desk chair.”

“Sure.”

Dave gave him a small smile and walked into the kitchen. Unfortunately, from where Right Hand Man was standing, he could still see Dave in the other room. In fact, he somehow found a spot that had a good vantagepoint of the dining area, part of the kitchen, the front door, and some of their living room. Two chairs sat around the table as Dave took one away.

Chief Reginald prodded Dave further, asking a few short questions and allowing Dave to go on a tangent with them all. How had he been handling the HOA? What were the neighbors like? Did they have enough to cover bills? Were they eating properly? Did they have a proper amount of clothes? Had Henry gone unconscious like this before?

That last question put a halt to Dave’s light-hearted thoughts. Talking so much, answering such broad questions not only without a beat lost but always with a positive, his fears had begun to ebb. But now they were back with all the force of an earthquake. “No,” Dave answered honestly. “There were a few times when he got pretty tired and needed to stay in bed a few extra hours. He always got pretty frustrated about it, since he didn’t want to spend all day in bed. But nothing like what happened today.”

“What… brought it on? Did he not get enough sleep the night before?”

“He did. It’s just a Friday. Fridays are always the worst since he works all week. Normally he’s better by Sunday. It was bound to happen eventually. He needs a full charge once a month, and he hadn’t had one since he was at the airship almost two months ago.” Dave sighed and bowed his head. “I should have forced him to go earlier. It shouldn’t have come to this.”

“It shouldn’t have,” said Chief Reginald.

…

Quite honestly feeling suffocated, Dave said a goodbye and went into the laundry room. The bed sheets and blanket and pillowcases normally went into their own load, anyway. Besides, it would take a few hours. By the time the washer was open, and the drier was working on the last of the clothes, a few hours would have passed. Henry might even be awake by then. Then the bed would empty, and Dave could finish it. Though it wasn’t originally Dave’s week to do the dishes, it was now.

Well, the electricity bill was going to be _way_ lower next month.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ellie Rose left the game  
>  **VICTORY**
> 
> So this could have gone in several different directions, two of which leading to Ellie betraying them. The third was them just picking up Henry while he was dying and bringing him back to the airship to rest up and heal. But in none of the above endings had Henry put down the beginnings of a root system.
> 
> Also, I wrote an original character with a mechanical arm and leg wired to her brain years ago. They're both battery-powered, and there's a scene where she loses charge and they just collapse out from under her. They're rechargeable and the batteries interchangeable. Decided "Hey, why not" and boom. There we go. Unfortunately, she couldn't turn her hand into a sword or her foot into a rocket or something. She was just a farmer's kid who got on the wrong side of misfiring government technology.
> 
> Also: Happy New Year~!


	29. Ohana Means Family (6/7)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired Endigns: TR, CG

# Chapter Six

_The Hunt_

Henry didn’t like all this waiting. Still, he did it. He said goodbye to Howie and Katie and now stood on the roof of the government facility. Another helicopter sat in waiting on the roof with a few other helipads left open. Henry leaned on the wall to one of the small, elevated rooms that would lead down into the building. As much as he would have loved to stand around with the general and a few others who seemed to like Charles–Rupert and Victoria had shown some concern, which was a little funny because he recognized Captain Grit’s name but not her face–he would also prefer the solitude and open air of the chilly desert night.

Helicopter blades whistled through the ether some distance away.

Henry looked up as the newest vehicle joined them. Wind whipped past him and the steady roar of the helicopter rotors filled his ears. The door slid open. Henry half expected to see Charles popping his head out. But instead, it was Ellie, hopping out of the helicopter and running to meet Henry. Henry ducked inside the building, shutting out the wind and noise behind them as Ellie joined him.

“So, what happened?” Ellie asked.

“I don’t really know,” Henry explained as they walked. “I think he was waiting for you to get here.”

“What, I couldn’t talk over the phone?”

“Apparently not.”

“What do you know?” Ellie held open the door for him. Despite not knowing where they were going, she stayed by his side rather than behind him.

“That he went missing almost six hours ago,” Henry informed her.

“Any ideas on where to start?”

“A few, but we should get whatever we can from Galeforce first.”

General Galeforce waited for them in his office. When the door was closed, the general immediately launched into his speech. “Charlie was last seen flying to an active site where we know a small Toppat base is located. We had communication with his team until everything went silent at once. Three hours later, we found his Black Hawk grounded, close to the empty base in relatively good condition. The two who were with him reported being overrun and escaping, but they did not see Charles in the end of it. He allowed them to escape but did not manage to follow them.”

Ellie asked, “Where was this?”

“We found the base close to the shore, a few miles off the Gulf of Alaska, southeast of Valdez.”

 _Huh. That_ was _a small base, usually used by the Sea Division for restocking supplies._

Ellie looked at Henry and then nodded. “Okay. So, base close to Valdez, Alaska. On it, General!”

General Galeforce smiled. “Good. Bring him home safely, and you’ll be well rewarded. If you need any help with transport or tools…?”

Henry shrugged. “I wouldn’t turn down a ride.”

“Good. Speak with Rodgers, he should bring you back to the site. Be careful.”

Henry and Ellie gave him a salute as they left. “So, Alaska.”

“Yep. Alaska,” said Henry.

“Got anything warm?”

“Nope. Bring anything useful on you?”

“A few things. Let’s go see about that offer for some gadgets, huh?”

“Hen, got anything?”

Henry looked up from his phone at Ellie, who sat with her arms crossed on her lap. He glanced back down at his phone. No replies. _Figures._ “Not yet. Everyone I know is asleep. Heh.”

“Damn. So, you really know people who know Toppats?”

“I know people who know stuff they won’t tell me about,” Henry offered. “Hell, maybe they don’t. The Toppat Clan isn’t exactly open with stuff like this, after all. What I know is when they visit town, no one else is supposed to get underfoot. But no one’s in town. Anymore, at least. Anyone who bothers to track them, well, I don’t know.”

Ellie sighed and looked at her lap. After a few minutes, she said, “Did I tell you I almost got killed in a fight with a few Toppats?”

Henry looked up. “What?”

“Yeah. So, I was hired to get this guy. Turns out he was a Toppat, and he had friends. I managed to chase them down and grab him, but he called a couple of his friends over. Barely made it out of there myself.”

 _Was_ she _responsible for Wallace? He’d claimed it was the military!_ “Really?”

“Yeah. This was actually before I went to the Wall. Those guys I was chasing when I got captured? Toppats. I must have just ruffled some wrong feathers and the Wall got _me_ instead of _them_. Ugh. If Dmitri’s dogs hadn’t targeted me, I’d have _had_ that guy! Maybe even his friends! I’d also still have my motorcycle.”

Henry wrinkled his nose. “Damn.”

“Yeah. And now they got Charles. We’ll get him back, though! No one gets to kidnap our Charles and gets away with it.” Ellie grinned a fierce grin. Henry couldn’t help but copy it. Though… fighting them… wasn’t on his agenda. Besides, fighting them wouldn’t do a damn thing if Charles was on a ship or even the airship.

A few hours later, after some light talk and a short doze, Henry’s phone went off.

[Hey, yeah, about that.] 7:32 AM

[Lil buddy, we should talk when you get the chance.] 7:32 AM

7:32 AM [Well, I’m not doing anything right now.]

[When you get back to the ship?] 7:33 AM

7:33 AM [Howie, I’m not going to be back for a while.]

[This is something I should explain, though… You know, in person or something. I know you’re probably still at that government facility.] 7:33 AM

7:33 AM [No, I left. I’m out with Ellie looking for Charles. He went missing.]

[Oh. Can you sneak out to the airship?] 7:33 AM

7:34 AM [Is Ellie allowed to come with?]

7:35 AM [That’s what I thought. Howie, just tell me what’s going on. Do you know where Charles is?]

[Yeah.] 7:35 AM

Henry perked up. _Finally!_

7:35 AM [Where?]

[He’s in the Brig.] 7:35 AM

Henry’s eyebrows furrowed. Well, he’d expected Charles to be in trouble, to be captured, but at the Brig? Dad Reginald and Dad Right must know Charles is there, the chief has to be aware of all prisoners or non-Toppats on the ship.

7:36 AM [Are you serious?]

[Why the hell would I joke about this?] 7:36 AM

7:36 AM [Do my parents know?]

[They were probably still asleep when he was brought back.] 7:36 AM

[But I can check.] 7:36 AM

7:37 AM [Please. Yes.]

[Alright. Sit tight, okay? And don’t do anything rash.] 7:37 AM

7:37 AM [I won’t.]

Ellie craned her neck as if trying to look at his phone from across the helicopter. “What happened?”

“I think I know where Charles is,” Henry said. “Someone… someone saw him.”

Ellie grimaced. “I don’t like that look, Henry.”

Henry shook his head. “It should be fine. I’ve heard of prisoners, you know? It’ll be simple. We just find where he’s being hidden then get in and get out. Shouldn’t take an hour, probably.” He sent a meaningful glance in Liam’s direction.

Ellie nodded. “Okay. So, your friend’s awake?”

“Yeah. He’s trying to see if there’s anything else he can dig up. It’s fairly new, after all. I don’t think the Toppats themselves know everything yet. That can work for us.”

Henry shot another look at Liam. Dad Reginald wouldn’t stand for Charles of all people to be a prisoner, right? Dad Right wouldn’t either. They’d agree that it was ridiculous, that there was no reason for it. Sure, Charles flew a few people over to take down a small Toppat base in Alaska, but Charles was a good guy. Wouldn’t hurt a fly. Henry had yet to ever see Charles say anything in true anger, much less pull out a weapon. He was a good guy, smart and competent and kind and Henry’s best friend. Yeah, they’d captured people who’d done things against the Clan less than what Charles did–take Dave for example–but still, they knew Charles. His dads had met Charles himself over a few birthday parties and graduation and that one time Henry hijacked a news helicopter because he was a stupid teen who didn’t know what he was doing.

But… what if? What if it was “for the good of the Clan?”

No. Hurting Charles wasn’t for the good of anyone. Someone like Afanasiy, who was ready to hurt, manipulate, and kidnap a child, was worthy of being hurt, of being captured and killed. But Charles? Hell, Dave? Dave wasn’t the best at his job, sure, but he was a nice and timid soul. Charles was the embodiment of a good and noble person.

Liam landed the helicopter a few minutes later. Out into the wind and snow did Ellie and Henry go. They bundled up deeper in the thick coats and gloves, ready for anything Alaska might throw at them. Henry was still annoyingly cold, though.

“So, Henry,” said Ellie as they walked. “Your ‘friend’?”

“He saw Charles,” Henry explained. “He’s okay, he has to be.”

“Is your friend a Toppat?”

Henry looked away. “…yes.”

Ellie didn’t bat an eye. “Are you a Toppat?”

“…yeah.”

…

“But you didn’t know this would happen. I know you didn’t, that’s not you. You would’ve helped Charles bust out of there, right?”

“Definitely!” Henry turned back to her. “I wouldn’t just _leave_ Charles there!”

“So, you can get into the base where they’re holding him and release him, right?”

Henry nodded. “Oh, yeah, definitely. I just need my friend to tell me more about it. I can get us onboard. Then we can sneak in, sneak out, and be home free in less than an hour. But! We might be followed. I could also go to the airship and talk to the Chief. The Chief has ultimate authority over the prisoners, after all. He knows me. So, he should know Charles, too.”

Ellie took a deep breath. A cloud misted before her nose. “Okay. I trust you, Henry.”

…

“Henry, after this…” Ellie turned to him, fixing him with those intense chocolate brown eyes of hers. “I think you should decide.”

“Decide?”

“Where you’re going. Henry, you’re our best friend, and I won’t make you make a decision right now,” Ellie explained. “However, your clan just captured Charles. They could have hurt him. I can’t forgive them for that. I’m an enemy of the Toppats, I’ve hunted down a few of them. What if, one day, you’re my next target? What if you were in that raid on that base and you were forced between keeping Charles safe or protecting your Clan?”

“Ellie, it’s not like that,” Henry denied.

“Look, all I’m saying is that the Toppat Clan has done some pretty messed up shit. Charles and I work against them, but not against you. But one day, you might not have that choice. You’ll have to decide between loyalty to your Clan or loyalty to us. I trust you, Henry, you know that. But I don’t trust your friends.”

Henry… didn’t immediately answer. _God the amount of times Howie and Katie have told him that exact same line. The amount of times Dad Reginald and Dad right individually warned him about that very thing._ “I know, but it won’t come to that. The Toppats raised me since I was a little kid, when my parents saved me from that orphanage and Mrs. Bloodworth. I can’t turn my back on them. But I _will_ get Charles out of there, even if I need to do a little sabotage myself.”

“I know. You’re a good friend, Henry.” Ellie smiled a little. “We both trust you. I won’t tell Charles, okay? I’ll let you decide if you want to do that.”

“Thanks, Ellie bean.”

Howie’s only reply had been “They know, but its complicated, and it’ll take a little while Just don’t do anything rash, okay?” an hour and a half after his last text. Welp, time to do things the hard way.

At the base in Alaska, the Toppats were gone. There were still people in green picking over the sight like crows. They accepted Ellie and Henry into their ranks without hesitation. So, the first place they went was in their communications lab. From the relatively neat state of the compact office sans missing data and folders that had been unceremoniously pulled from their spots, Henry could deduce that the government hadn’t gotten a chance to look over this place quite yet. Henry and Ellie did the honors of cleaning the place out. Outside of some abandoned valuables and a rather sensitive loose sheet of paper from a communication log, the place wasn’t nearly as much of a trap as Henry had first anticipated. Though the technology inside had been irreparably damaged–the partially scorched and scratched sledgehammer nearby being a guilty culprit–there was still _one_ mic that, though it gave off static noise and shocked Henry when he touched the awkwardly bent piece, he could still hear through it.

“This should be our ticket onto the airship,” Henry explained, fiddling with the technology in such a way to where he might use it. The signal was frayed and most of it busted, so he had to manually dial into a Toppat channel. “Stay quiet, let me do the talking. I’ll claim we left our hats at the ship. They _should_ recognize me, so they’ll probably assume you’re a new recruit. If they ask, you’re my friend. Henry Stickmin, one of the top planners in the Airship Division.”

“If they ask my name?”

“They shouldn’t. But if they do, I’ll handle it. Some of the new recruits are uncomfortable giving their names, anyway. We’re allowed to choose our own names when we enter the Toppat Clan. It’s a sort of ‘new beginning’ sort of thing. The Toppat Clan was our choice, and we now control where our lives are going to go and who we are. Make sure no one comes in here, alright? Don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.”

“Gotcha, Pap Hen.”

Henry cleared his throat and pressed a button on a mic. “Hello? Does anyone read? Stranded Airship Division employee, looking for help. Over.”

…

Henry repeated the line. After the third time with a good minute or so between each call, he received an answer. “ _…s this? W… an b… stand. …ision. Copy?_ ”

“I can barely hear you,” Henry announced. “This station just got raided, need a ride out. Is anyone available? Over.”

“ _W… able… ous. Do y… there? Ov…?_ ”

“Enemies nearby, but I have an escape route. I just need transport out of the area,” Henry said. “Over.”

A few seconds of silence stretched long after his words. “ _…o help. May… secure? W… risk… er._ ”

“The area is not secure, but I can meet someone at a nearby rendezvous point. I have a partner with me, we can escape, but we need a ride back to the airship. Over.”

“ _A…ship? Wh… Over._ ”

“Yes, the airship. I’m from the Airship Division. Is there a rendezvous point we can meet? I will make sure we aren’t followed. Over.”

“ _Coordin… corrupt… eed clarification on lo… Over._ ”

“Location? I’m in the Alaskan base southeast of Valdez, Alaska. My coordinates are…” Henry pulled out his phone. “60.925931 by -146.096231. I repeat, my coordinates are 60.925931 by -146.096231. Over.”

“ _…60.9 by -146.1 rough es… Over._ ”

“Repeat? Over.”

“ _Coordin… sixty-point-nine by neg… one-fourty-six po… one. Over._ ”

“Can confirm, over.”

“ _Meet at… ore at sixty-point-eight, neg… one-forty-six-point-two. Re… ..ty-point-eight, …ive one-forty-six-p…t-two. Over._ ”

“Okay. Meet at sixty-point-eight, negative one-forty-six-point-two. Roger that. Over.”

“ _Ma… re you a…owed. Over._ ”

“I will. Thank you so much. Over.”

Then, the line went dead. Henry stepped back and kicked the mic for good measure. Ellie sent him a puzzled look. He nodded to the door and typed into his phone. “Okay, so, it might take a little while, but they’ll get here. We’ll meet at the shore.”

Ellie nodded, once again at his side. She waved a greeting at a few soldiers as they made their way outside and into the wilderness. “So, our rescue mission begins?”

“Oh, yes. Remember: let me talk first. Stay out of sight, I’ll show you a good place to hide. If I can get them to let Charles go peacefully, I’ll do it.”

“If you can’t?”

“Well, we fall to Plan B. Break out. I know that place like the back of my hand, Ellie. We can do this.”

“Oh, of course. I didn’t doubt _us_ for a minute.”

They let the implications of that statement hang in the air between them for another few moments. “I know. I don’t, either.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you use coordinates, again? I mean, I totally know how, just wondering if you do. >>
> 
> Happy NEW YEAR! :D


	30. And the Underground Will Go Empty (6/6)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired Endings: TK, GSPI

# Chapter Six

_You Called for Help…_

Henry led the patrol. Howie stayed by the transporter button, ready to beam them down and then back up once the time came. Ahnoldt, Sherman, Wilhelm, Earrings, and The Ruffian stayed by Henry in the teleporter room. The other teleporter had gone off already, a patrol targeting a prison further south. Henry no longer wore his left glove. He flexed his fingers and looked over his palm. The blue bulb inlay in his palm gave off a glow only strong enough to make itself known.

“Ready,” Howie stated. “Now?”

Henry looked up at him. “Send us down.”

The door shut. A green light glowed in the chamber and Henry felt weightless. The floor vanished from underneath of them. Then he felt… cold…? Well, maybe it was cold, but the feeling was gone, and he felt his stomach drop and he lurched, his boots landed on cold metal. Sherman grabbed his shoulder to keep Henry from falling. The man before them jolted upon seeing their sudden entrance but took out a few papers. “These are maps of the complex. Henry, if you remember where you were kept, the floor directly above has the second row of prisoners, and one next to it has the first. On the other side of the complex is Maximum Security, where Right Hand Man is located.”

Henry stated, “The Ruffian, come with me. The rest of you: take the first and then the second cell blocks. Pemberton, Max Security first.”

“Yes, sir.” Wallace rushed down the hallway first, gesturing to a stairway part of the way through where Ahnoldt, Sherman, Wilhelm, and Earrings split off.

They took a very round-about route, taking corners and cutting through small rooms where no other guards were located. Wallace Pemberton stopped at the end of one hallway and turned back. “This is Maximum Security. Guards don’t bother patrolling often, so we’ll have a fifteen-minute window where no guards will be there.” He looked down at his watch and lowered his voice into a whisper. “One more minute until the next guard passes by.”

Henry nodded. God, the waiting. He _hated_ the waiting.

He heard a pair of footsteps approach, stop, and then continue. They stopped again and then continued. Wallace opened the door for them. Henry was at least thankful it wasn’t his leg that was replaced by metal. Otherwise, he doubted his footsteps would be as quiet as they were, now.

Wallace held up his hand and stopped. He stood up straight, glanced down either end of the hallway, and pressed a few buttons in the panel next to the rectangular slab in the wall interrupted by a single glass window. The door slid up to open. Immediately, they heard feet slam into the floor and metal clank against concrete. Standing far into the corner away from the door was… Dad Right. His shaggy ginger hair fell in ruffled locks over his shoulder and back. Clothes a size or so too big hung over his body. His hat was nowhere to be found. Something metal clamped to his ankle and gloves–individual ones and not the combined gloves Henry had worn–clasped his hands tight. “I told you I’m not afraid to fight back!” he snapped.

“Dad Right!” Henry sucked in his breath and took a tentative step forward.

Dad Right’s dark, sunken eyes narrowed. Then, his eyes widened, and tense muscles began to relax. “’Enry? That you?”

“Yes!” Henry hissed in glee. As much as he wanted to rush inside to meet him, Henry knew for a _fact_ that wouldn’t end well for any of them. He still had the nasty instinct to attack someone attempting to wake him through physical touch. He could only imagine what months in solitary confinement _here_ did to the man. “Come on, we’re getting out of here!”

“Sir,” said Wallace, stepping into the cell. He took out a key. “If you leave the cell, that ankle bracelet will cause an alarm to go off. So, I need to unlock it.”

Dad Right turned his gaze on Wallace but did nothing. The Wall guard spy knelt and clicked open the lock on the bracelet. He immediately stood up and unlocked the cuffs on his hands. Dad Right shook his hands and turned to Henry. “Where’s Reg?”

“California,” Henry stated and turned to Wallace.

Wallace found one of the lockers and switched out a few things–clicking together the locks that were on Dad Right and bringing out his hat as he did so. When Dad Right left the cell empty, an alarm screamed.

“Get out! Pemberton, lead!” Wallace rushed out of the cell and, throwing another look down both ways, waved to them and went back the way they came. The Ruffian shut the cell door behind him. Henry asked, “Wallace, is there _any_ quicker way?”

“No. Not unless you’re ready to trip an alarm,” Wallace stated as they moved.

Henry glanced back at Dad Right. “Can you keep up?”

“Course,” Dad Right puffed.

Henry stayed in the back, throwing hard looks behind himself. God it was _too quiet_ here. Wallace couldn’t have tipped them off to it happening at some different time.

Sherman’s part of the patrol met up with them, four new Toppats in tow. As they took the last turn, the found the exit blocked. Two Wall guards with guns now stood between them and the door. Behind them, more footsteps pattered through the hall. Earrings stepped forward. Henry had barely shut his eyes before a bright flash engulfed the hallway, eliciting screams of shock and pain from before and behind them. As soon as the light died, Sherman and Wilhelm shot, gunning down the two by the door.

Wallace led them back through to their entrance. When he attempted to open the door, the handle clicked and jerked. Locked? Weird. Red puffed at Wallace, giving him exactly two seconds to move before kicking the door with all his might.

The guards down the hall scrambled to retrieve their weapons and recover from the flash.

After three hard kicks, the bent door shrieked open, slamming into the railing. As soon as Wallace stepped outside, gunshots fired. A few Wall guards shot from the stairway up higher. Sherman and Wilhelm shot. Ahnoldt and Henry stayed watching down the corridor, Henry’s hand raised and Ahnodlt ready to fire.

“Got them!”

Henry shooed them back with one hand and activated the laser on his other. The stench of scorched metal and flesh swelled into the air as Henry’s laser swept across them, targeting the weapons in their hands.

“Henry!” Ahnoldt called from on the landing.

Henry rushed outside, kicking the door closed. It creaked and refused to close. He pressed a green button on his watch. A bright green beam shone on the people in the landing. Within a second, they were gone, beamed up onto the ship. The weightless feeling took Henry. A moment hadn’t passed before the chill left and their feet were on metal floor. He stumbled and ran into Ahnoldt, who steadied him.

With an embarrassed cough, Henry followed them out into the cabin.

Howie exclaimed, “Yer back! And–oh!” He picked up a walkie talkie. “Medical team ta Beam Pad 5!”

Henry slipped his glove back on and walked around to get a better look at his barely conscious father. “Ahnoldt, Sherman, guide them to the Med Bay. Earrings, Wilhelm, take Pemberton to the Records and finish this mission.”

A few different Toppats with a stretcher and a pack of medical equipment passed the group leaving. Dad Right didn’t want to go, not until whoever left to find Dad Reginald came back. One of the Toppats pointed out the red bleeding through the sleeve of his shirt and blusih tinge the man’s fingers had taken on. Eventually, Henry gave up and Henry, Howie staying loyal by the teleporter room, followed the medical professionals and Dad Right. They weren’t allowed farther than the small waiting room, _especially_ when Dad Reginald was all but carried in, pale and bruised but on his feet with his head held high.

Henry did not like waiting.

Dad Right recovered quickly, most of his ailments stemming from malnutrition and inadequate conditions as well as minor frostbite. Dad Right was bruised and burned in a few places–electricity burns, he confirmed. Dad Reginald had not been properly fed and the prison guards at “The Rock” were just as ruthless as their Canadian counterparts. But that’s where the similarities ended. Dad Reginald showed the beginning of illness, either brought upon by close quarters with inmates who had been exposed to illness and fought it off sufficiently enough to show no symptoms, or from an infection in his leg, above an improperly set sprained ankle.

This was only the beginning. With Dad Reginald and Dad Right back along with the small few still stuck in the Wall, it was time to expand their horizons. Some heists would also be good, bring in some easy money so they weren’t staying stagnant in the Vault. Henry had, as soon as he’d been allowed back in, offered his position back to Dad Reginald, once the man woke and healed. Dad Reginald, being mostly asleep under some painkillers, couldn’t respond.

“Kid, you’ve been doing a good job,” Dad Right admitted. “Wait until Reg rests a little.”

“Okay, Dad. …you know, it’s really nice having you back. In one piece.” Henry snorted. “Could you imagine if Dmitri was alive? He’d be huffing steam. He’s probably rolling in his _grave_ right about now! But… I’m glad that didn’t happen to you. Either of you.”

Dad Right nodded.

Henry lost his smile. “…I know… I know it took a little while. We’ve been up here a couple of weeks. I’m sorry I couldn’t find you sooner.” _Stupid Afanasiy, shut up!_ “But! You’re here now and there’s nothing that can get in our way! Not the Wall or the government. No double agents.”

**_Mission Complete._ **

For the first time in months, he heard their voices. The Angel and Not-Angel.

**_The Toppat Life_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached the end, ironically at the New Year's. It was seven chapters. Here's the original [Chapter Seven](https://sta.sh/01cwbcjyjmmy) if you want to read it. Warning: angst.
> 
> The ending was originally part of an ending called "You're A Sneaky Little Imposter," which was a RBH/FM/R inspired ending that would have taken place in the original version of the story, which Ellie joined the Toppats without Henry's help and there weren't 3 different paths through the Wall. Ellie took Reginald, leaving both RHM injured (thrown into the engine like canon) and Henry injured (machine gun to the back when he tried taking Ellie down). In that version, Dave wasn't with Henry, and instead, when Henry went to grab Ellie, pinned him long enough to let Ellie, Joan, and then himself escape with Chief Reginald. After the rocket launch, Henry (RHM's right hand) and Howie went to kill Ellie while RHM went to break Reginald out of prison. But, with the story changed, I really didn't want to burden "Convict Allies" with this, y'know? I also changed it two days before I would post the first chapter of everything because I already have a "Revenged" inspired one.
> 
> Finally, we have the ending cheekily known as "The Toppat Life," the title partially inspired by "Toppat King." Since "Toppat 4 Life" was already taken, I had to be a tad bit creative. It's ironic because "Revenged" is my favorite CtM ending and "GSPI" is my least favorite ItA ending.


	31. It Wasn't Me, I Was In Electric (7/7)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Innspired endings: TCW, FM

# Chapter Seven

_They Used To Be Best Friends, But Then They Got All Stupid. Can You Promise Me You Won't Get All Stupid?_

Henry was sore when he woke up and dirty. Heh. Guess he’d forgotten to do some cooling down and hadn’t taken a shower. Technically, he didn’t _forget._ At least, probably not. The last thing he remembered was being pulled out of the car by Dave, who dragged his body–heavier than Dave with significantly more metal–inside. There was a suffocated feeling, but it wasn’t incredibly bad. He was numb to the pain. He was numb to… everything.

Not anymore, though; now Henry was breathing, and his heart was beating, and he was a little sore, especially his chest. Oh. Wait. The thought of Dave being incredibly worried and probably super mad struck him. Right, he should wake up. It had to have been a few hours–because it always was with the stupid phone charger–and he didn’t want Dave putting himself into a panic attack for too long.

When Henry opened his eyes, Dave wasn’t there. The laundry machine was running, as was the sink. That was probably why. But, sitting next to him, perked up now that he saw movement, was Dad Reginald. “Henry?” Dad Reginald’s voice made its way to his foggy mind.

“Hmmm… yeah.” Henry barely heard himself say the words. “Awake. Awake.” Then, of course, the _implications_ of seeing Dad Reginald there struck him. He sucked in his breath and sat up, grabbing his knee with his right hand to do so. He instinctively turned to the wall, knowing this position would rip the phone charger out of the wall. But the phone charger was not there. Rather, his original charger snaked behind him. The little light by the charger was still yellow.

“Henry, whoa! Stop!” Dad Reginald commanded, holding his hands up.

Henry turned on him. Dad Right was nearby, watching them both, now. Henry held his hand closer to himself. “What are you doing here? Where’s Dave?”

“He’s in the other room,” Dad Reginald said with a dismissive wave. “We came here because you were in trouble. Dave activated your wrist band and notified us of it.”

Henry looked down at his wrist and let out a weird noise. What was he feeling toward Dave right now? Love? Relief? Fierce irritation? All of them? “But Dave’s okay, right? You haven’t hurt him?” He narrowed his eyes. “And you aren’t here to drag me back to the station.”

Dad Reginald sighed. “No, no. We did not hurt him. Henry, you almost died here.”

“And now I won’t,” Henry stated, gesturing to the cable. “Thank you. I won’t die. I still don’t have any reason to go back. I’m perfectly good here.”

“Henry, please. You’ve been gone for about two months, now. There’s not even an airship to go back to, it’s wonderful in space. Surely, you’ve had enough time to… think or calm down or what have you.”

Henry gave him a flat look. _That man just never took responsibility for his own pride, did he?_ “No, I think I still have time to _think_ or _calm down_. Just like you do.”

“Henry, _we_ weren’t the ones that left,” Dad Reginald stated, his voice a little firmer.

Henry met the challenge. “Yeah? Well, I did leave. I left because I thought Dave’s life was more important than your _feelings_. It’s been two months. You _say_ you want me to come back, but you won’t admit you’re wrong!”

“I’m not wrong,” Dad Reginald crossed. “I was doing my job. You decided to jump out of the airship with a prisoner.”

“He was only a prisoner because you didn’t feel like dealing with him! He was going to die because you didn’t like the fact that I liked him. I love Dave, and you would rather kill him and punish me for it than admit that maybe you’re wrong.”

“I wasn’t wrong,” Dad Reginald stated. “I understand that you love the man. It was still not supposed to happen. I have a responsibility to deal with the Clan, with prisoners or potential threats or anything of the sort.”

Henry scoffed. “You didn’t do anything with him. He was there for over a month and you did _nothing_. Am I supposed to believe you thought anything you had to do with Dave would affect the Clan in any way? Because I know you didn’t. He was just some meddlesome nightguard to you. Just face it. You were wrong about this. You’re right about a lot of stuff, Dad, but this wasn’t one of those things.”

Dad Reginald started to speak, but Henry cut him off. “Now, I’m in my own home in my own place. I have a job that doesn’t involve the Clan. Dave and I earned the money to keep the lights on and put food on the table. I don’t need _you_ or the _Clan_. The Toppat Clan was my home, and you’re my parents, but this is my house, now. I’m not going back.”

“You aren’t the quiet life type,” Dad Reginald pointed out. “You drive yourself mad when you have nothing to do!”

“I have things to do,” Henry crossed. “–and I’ve been going to therapy. Honestly, I like it. I didn’t want to, at first. But Dave pushed me in the right direction, as did some of my friends from work. I want to keep going. I’m not bored, I have stuff to do, that I can and want and need to do.”

“Reg.”

Dad Reginald looked back at Dad Right.

Dad Right continued, “Let him go. If this is the life ’e chooses, so be it.”

Dad Reginald stuttered. “Right Hand Man! We can’t just let him stay here!”

“’Enry said this is his home now,” Dad Right stated. “You can’t convince ’im otherwise.”

Dad Reginald looked between them. “The Toppat Clan is your home, Henry! You’ve lived with us since you were a child.”

“I know,” Henry agreed. “I still think of you as my family. But this is my home, now.”

Dad Reginald shook his head. No words came in reciprocation.

“Dad, I love you. I love you both. But I’m staying here. With Dave. In this small town in the middle of nowhere.”

A short silence spanned between them.

Finally, Henry said, “I’m, uh… I’m making hamburgers tonight. If you want to stay over for dinner.”

Dad Reginald looked back at Dad Right and nodded. “Yes. Yes, I believe we can stay for a little while longer.”

Henry chuckled and looked at the bedroom door. “Hey, Dave?”

The sink stopped running. Dave tentatively walked inside. “Yeah, Henry?”

“Dad Reginald and Dad Right are staying over for dinner. We have enough hamburger meat, right?”

“Aaaaah, well, no? I was going to use the rest for spaghetti. But, if you all are staying over I guess we can?”

Henry puffed and waved his hand. “Ah it’ll be _fine_. I can go out and get some more hamburger patties…”

“You’re not leaving this room until I see a green light.” Dave pointed a still wet finger at Henry’s shoulder.

Henry sighed. “Always trying to confine me. But we’ll need to get them _some_ time.”

Dave walked back out of the bedroom. “I’ll go, I’ll go! Just don’t leave the room.”

“Thanks, mall cop!”

“You’re welcome, Space heater.”

By the time dinner rolled around, Henry had finished charging and was up and ready to make a great dinner! Well, as good as could be when it was made up of mediocre hamburger patties he overcooked slightly and oven-ready French fries. To be fair, Henry didn’t cook, and Dad Right was still amazing at hiding his emotions and Dad Reginald still good at speaking for five minutes straight without saying a thing. Christmas was quickly approaching, so sure, Henry could go for a visit to the Orbital Station over the holidays, as long as Dave wanted to and was allowed to–which was a yes on both accounts. Deep down, Henry was rather excited to meet everyone in person again.

**_Mission Complete._ **

Angel and Not Angel? He hadn’t heard them in months…

**_Home Free_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> H Stickmin left the game  
> Dave Panpa left the game
> 
> And here we are, at the end. "TCW" ending inspiration came into play when Henry basically ejected himself and Dave from the ship after Chief Reginald ordered Dave's death. "FM" came from this ending, where Henry lives away from the Toppat Clan, under no fear whatsoever and with no reason to hide. Maybe one day he'll come back. Or maybe Henry and Dave will stay in Salem, Oregon. Maybe they'll have one or two cats. Maybe they'll have time for a dog or even a kid. Hey, who knows, right? They've already completed their mission.


	32. Ohana Means Family (7/7)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired Endings: TR, CG

# Chapter Seven

_Breaching the Brig_

“Dad, this is serious,” Henry stated. He had changed into his suit and hat.

Dad Reginald, still focused on piloting the ship, said without looking back, “I am completely serious.”

“You can’t just _keep him!_ That’s Charles!”

“A very dangerous government pilot who helped arrest a third of the Toppat Clan members in one of the Sea Divisions smaller bases in Alaska, I am well aware of that. You should be as well.”

“I know that. But–”

“It was you who decided to befriend a military brat. I, as well as several other members of the Clan, told you that this was a bad idea.”

“Dad–”

“Calvin is staying here until further notice as our prisoner. Henry Stickmin, that is final. Because of this, I took the liberty of taking you off Brig duty myself.”

“What? No! D–”

“You also will not be approaching the Brig for any reason unless specifically asked to do so, do you understand?”

“Dad, you–”

“ _Do you understand?_ ” Dad Reginald shot a sharp look back at Henry.

Henry started to speak, but eventually let out a heavy sigh through his teeth. “Yes, Chief, I do.”

“If anyone catches you near the Brig, much less meeting with any prisoners, you and they both will be very sorry. Do you understand?”

“Yes. Chief,” Henry barely managed to hiss out the words.

“Good. Now, you’re dismissed, Henry.” Dad Reginald turned ahead again. “And don’t think you can sneak in there. I raised you, Henry.”

 _Bet._ “Okay. Well, you won’t have to worry about that. _I’m_ going to storage, since I promised to organize some things in there today.” With that, Henry turned and walked away, out of the Bridge. So, maybe his hopes were dampened, but he still had them. After all, he may be an enemy, but Dad Reginald _knew_ him. People knew Henry knew them. It couldn’t be that bad. Regardless, he needed to pick up Ellie and go forth with their escape plan.

Henry didn’t lie to Dad Reginald; he _had_ promised to help clean out one of the storage rooms a little and so that’s where he was headed. But either Dad Reginald wasn’t telling the whole story–which Henry knew he wasn’t–or he didn’t know Henry as well as he thought he did. Predictably, someone checked up on him within a half hour of his stay at the storage. Then there was a second person a little after that. Once he waved goodbye to Magnus, Henry shut the door and popped open one of the vents.

Within minutes he was by a closet close to the Vault. Ellie, complaining quietly about the overwhelming smell of cleaning chemicals and how densely packed the small area was, followed Henry to the Vault. She had on a hat–Dave’s black one that he wore when in disguise. He stopped in front of the door. Anyone with half a brain and access to the Vault would know Henry had been through here, even if he didn’t take anything. The Vault kept a meticulous log of people and contents, after all. So, if he was to break out Charles, they would need to be quick about it.

Henry took a deep breath and entered the newest code to the door, changed once yearly as the technology was kept up to date along with the security in the rest of the ship. Although a light shone on Henry and Ellie when he put in the code to open the door, once it flashed over Henry’s ID, it turned green and shut off. The door to the Vault was now open.

Ellie whistled as they walked through the room packed with artifacts and gold. “Sweet place you got here.”

Henry smirked, though it was rather weak. “Yeah. We get up to some trouble pretty often.” Henry stopped as they passed the ruby. A bitter feeling of pettiness wormed up in him. Well, he was so intent on doing something to screw over and hurt Henry, Henry may as well return the favor. He stuck his Shrink-and-Grow device onto it. The ruby shrunk to the size a piece of popcorn and he stuck it in his pocket.

The inside of the Vault had slightly less security. It only required a password. But there was a camera from the inside facing them, which turned on when movement was present. Ellie kept her face concealed beneath her hat.

Talking from within the Brig stopped as they entered.

Henry, with a look around to make sure no other Toppats were inside, said, “Charles? Dave? You in here?”

“Henry!” This came from both of the prisoners.

Dave breathed a sigh of relief. “There you are! I was worried something happened to you.”

“Hah! I knew you’d find me!” Charles laughed. His laughter stopped abruptly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, definitely. But we need to hurry up and get out.” Henry opened the door to Charles’ cell and tossed the key to Ellie, who went to Dave’s.

Standing inside the cell was a disheveled man in a military uniform blotched by patches of maroon, some small but some alarmingly large. The man inside was pale and unsteady, _definitely_ a side-effect of blood loss, making the bruising on his face even more obvious. His headphones were scuffed, but squarely on his head. Well, as squarely as could be when as dented as they were, one of the top bars bent to near breaking.

“Charles!” Henry sucked in his breath and pulled him out and immediately went to looking him over. “What happened? What did they do to you?”

Charles chuckled and ducked out of his grasp. “Well, while I was waiting to be taken here, I spent some time refusing to answer a few of their questions. But I’m okay! I’m not dead! I, um, probably need a doctor, but I’m fine!”

Henry took a deep, shaky breath. _No wonder Dad Reginald didn’t want Henry in the Brig. Whoever was responsible for this was dead meat._ “Come on, we can talk about this on the way out. Ellie, Dave! Hurry!”

“Holy shit,” Ellie breathed, her face going pale. But Henry didn’t see shock or fear on her features. She’d probably expected this, and Ellie wasn’t afraid of anything. Henry could _feel_ the heated atmosphere near her. He could empathize with it.

Henry led them out, ushering them through the Vault as quickly as possible. As they rushed down the hall that would lead to one of the escape pods–the same one Afanasiy took all those years ago–a new pair of footsteps approached. Henry bristled and held up a hand to stop them. Charles stumbled to a hault. Ellie grabbed a hold of him, her grip tightening as he double over and wrapped his own arms around his stomach where a good amount of the blood his uniform soaked up resided.

Henry nearly laughed aloud as Geoffrey rounded the corner. Henry pointed past him and walked up to meet him.

“Who’s there?” Geoffrey called, squinting up at them as they approached. “Wait–Henry? Is that–?”

“Sorry, Geoffrey.” Henry took him by the front of the shirt and hit him across the head. The older Toppat slumped into his arms and then to the floor when Henry set him down.

Ellie opened the door for them, but Henry typed in the buttons required to eject them and move back to the government base in the Southwest.

“Kinda… tight in here,” Dave commented as the pod blasted off.

Henry stared out the window at the airship as it got smaller and smaller. He swallowed and took a deep breath. “Right. Yeah. We’ll get there and then we need to bring you to the doctor. Ellie? Mind, uh… calling them?”

“Sure.”

“We’ll need to tell the general you’re there.”

Charles nodded. “Thanks, Henny, Ellie. You guys are the best.”

…

“Henry,” Charles went on. “You… didn’t tell me you were a Toppat.”

Henry raised his eyebrows. “What?”

“Uh… it’s kinda obvious. Well, now that I know,” Charles admitted.

Dave ducked his head and looked away, a hand on the back of his neck.

Henry sighed. “Yeah. I am.”

“Um, well… thanks. For helping me. I’m kinda surprised you’d, um… do that. You know, going against the Toppat Clan.”

Henry looked out the window. The airship was barely a red speck in the sky, now. “Yeah. Me, neither. But you’re my best friend, Charles. If it’s between my father’s senselessness or you, I chose you.”

“Your father…?”

“Yeah. He was in charge of you, technically. And in charge of Dave. The prisoners.”

“Oh. Well, uh, after I got back, they had a doctor look me over,” Charles offered. “I have some stitches, now. And he gave me some antibiotics. I didn’t expect that.”

“He wanted you alive.”

“Yeah. That, uh… that makes sense.”

“Henry?” Dave chipped in. “Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Charles got a rougher time than I did. Why is that?”

“Charles is a veteran in the government, an ace pilot. He’s trusted and knows a lot more than you do, Dave. You were just a nightguard in a museum, after all.”

“Oh. Okay. That, that makes sense.”

_The Toppats did that to him._

Henry looked over Charles’ wounded body, his pale skin and breaths hitched by a pained wheeze. Henry knew for a fact the doctor treated him, but he had a bad feeling someone had “forgotten” to give him any painkillers. The Toppat Clan, people Henry trusted, did that to him.

Afanasiy was right; they followed their own rules.

And good people suffered for it.

They had barely landed about a mile or so away from the base before they were met by a few trucks. Henry and Ellie had done away with their hats. The soldiers greeted Charles and carefully helped him into one of the trucks. One of the soldiers in the passenger seat of the second vehicle, Rupert, gasped and lowered his weapon. “Dave!”

“Wh-what?” Dave jumped and looked up. His eyes went round. “Rupert! Oh my God–you’re a soldier? You’re here!”

“Dave, we thought you’d _died!_ ”

Dave climbed into the truck and was immediately met with an uncharacteristic amount of enthusiasm. As they drove back to the base, the two laughed and Rupert checked over him and Dave, tears in his big brown eyes, struggled against him, but only a little and without any real effort.

June said, “Rup, I’ll grab the General. You stay with them.”

“Thanks, June.”

The nurses that spotted Charles, and got the report from Henry and Ellie both, immediately pulled him into treatment. When the General got there, the nurses still hadn’t let him go. Dave was gone, too, as he was taken in to be checked over. Being around people who weren’t wearing top hats and instead wore slightly more familiar uniforms seemed to calm the both of them.

Henry looked up as the General set his hand on Henry’s shoulder. “You did good, Henry. I knew you would.”

Henry smiled a little, but looked away, unable to meet the man’s soft eyes, stormy gray as the man’s own hair. Henry signed, “ _Thank you._ ”

General Galeforce said something to Ellie that Henry didn’t catch. When they were allowed further into the Ward to visit Charles, they found him lying in a hospital bed with a clean gown on and a thin blanket rather than his dirty, bloodied uniform. General Galeforce managed a smile upon seeing him and immediately greeted the young pilot. Henry watched the two’s interaction, like a grandfather meeting his grandson after a stressful time of separation. Briefly, Henry wondered what that was like, to have a grandfather or figure like one. General Galeforce was from the government, the military. He was a general. But Henry… couldn’t summon the will to feel disgust or his favorite brand of exaggerated superior arrogance he liked to wear to piss them off.

“Henry, Ellie,” General Galeforce announced after clucking over Charles and being filled in. The two turned their immediate attention to him. “You did well. I guess we owe you one. Now, we’ve had you on our side for quite some time, Ellie. Recently, you, Henry, have come to do us quite a lot of good. Henry, Ellie, what do you two think of enlistment? You’ll be running a lot more missions with Charlie.”

Ellie’s eyes brightened. “Become a special agent and kick butt with Charles? Sign me up!”

Charles, his eyebrows furrowed in slight apprehension, lit up like a Christmas tree. He looked to Henry.

_Enlisted… to become the very person he’d been trained to defy and fight for over a decade. To help a world that never loved him back? A world he honestly hadn’t given a chance._

“Well, Henry? What do you say?” General Galeforce asked. “You could do the world a lot of good.”

“…yeah.” Henry’s eyes met Charles’. “That’s a great idea.”

**Mission Complete**

Angel and Not-Angel…?

**Third Power**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **DEFEAT**
> 
> Imposters  
>  _Terrence S. and Ellie Rose_
> 
> I guess technically only a defeat because Henry joined her side?
> 
> Anyhow, I'm really happy about this ending! I really wanted to do something about turning to the government, moreso about joining forces with Charles. So, Henry, Charles, and Ellie are officially a team! Dave gets freed and meets up with Rupert. Henry realizes that his family's day job is actually bad. Charles got hurt, but got treatment and freedom!
> 
> Welcome to the totally-not-Triple-Threat-ripoff ending~! Admittedly, despite how much I absolutely love "Wasn't Me, I Was in Electric," this is my favorite ending. What endings did y'all like? Dislike?

**Author's Note:**

> I will be updating every Monday/Wednesday/Friday at 12:00 PM CST/6:00 PM GMT
> 
> Thank y'all so much for the polls! In case you missed it, here are the results! Also, here are my answers, just in case y'all are curious. I didn't add mine to the final count. But I did spend forever on these mega documents and triple-checking them. _And then for Google Docs to not have a COLLAPSE option it's JUST AGK_ But, whatever, here they are~! <3 [Spreadsheet of both](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ojMRkPzxnzsnFv5fJe78VgQa1uxaa8Uu_NGYpWS3R90/edit?usp=sharing), ["A Vote for Henry is a Vote for DPDS" mega doc](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qd9xVOXzXUUOB9gpBnEVni4eCS_6C4TRIuicbtUglNc/edit?usp=sharing), ["My DPDS Fanfiction for a Ship" mega doc](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OzxcRloUTseatJMnXaNW53Zkf6E45xYHm8awjcKJhww/edit?usp=sharing), and then the links to the two poles: [A Vote for Henry is a Vote for DPDS](https://forms.gle/juV7a7qbZpvtKCSh8) and [My DPDS Fanfiction for a Ship](https://forms.gle/ByddH12nUWYUdoKy5)
> 
> Now that we're at the end, here are the three endings I scrapped: "[Caught a Big One!](https://sta.sh/010jo4qu2rq5)", "[Hey, Google, What's a Prison Riot](https://sta.sh/0vsdnj03kju)", and "[Brashness of a Broken Heart](https://sta.sh/02g8ot4oibab)". "Brashness of a Broken Heart" is the predecessor to "It Wasn't Me, I Was in Electric". "Caught a Big On!" is the name of one of my favorite FAILs in the game, found in "Stickmin Space Resort". (My favorite FAIL is "high five" in "Triple Threat" just so you know)
> 
> Whoo~! "Different Story, Different End" is finally finished and completely edited. :3 Thank you for your patience!


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